Return To Me At Sunrise
by SunilaMoon
Summary: Years have passed since the fall of London. Hellsing has rebuilt, and things have started to settle back down, that is...Until Sir Integra meets someone whom she thought to have been long lost. Will the sun ever rise on this endless night? R&R, thanks
1. Prelude

Six years had passed since London burned. Six Years since betrayal had reared its ugly head, Since her organization fell, and since her servant left her.

Hellsing was rebuilding, slowly, but surely. England was still trying to recover, they had already covered up the events that unfolded that day.

Terrorists of course. They did not lie about what happened in London, they just left out certain details.

There was no one to disagree with their new story, for no one who knew the truth got out of that hell alive. They where all dead. Every last one.

It would be decades untill things could ever return to normal, and even then nothing would be the same. That day changed everything. That day when they all charged forward to the pits of Hell.

Letztes Bataillon. The Hellsing Organization. The Vatican Section 13, The Iscariots.

War was truly Hell...And this war...this war was private and exclusive. Nothing more then a game played only by the ones who knew the truth, and those select few took that truth to their grave. Some fought to the death, others accepted fate and did little to alter it, and many fell to the darkness.

It was that day that Sir Integral Hellsing walked from the fallen city, the vampire Seras Victoria by her side. She was one of the only survivors, and by killing Herr Major she made sure of the fact. The only sounds heard that moment where her own footsteps on the broken pavement, the roar of the fire finally starting to die, and the steady drip of blood that fell from her blade.

She held it by her side nearly letting it fall to the ground, no longer sheathing it, no longer cleaning it. Then, after several minutes, a final sound broke through the morning... The sharp clanging as it slid from her fingers and hit the broken pavement. The knight was done, for there was no longer a dragon to fight.

That was it, that day was the day every vampire fell. It was the end of their era. It was over.

Sir Hellsing had destroyed all those who opposed her. Her organization would thrive, thrive and wait for the day they would be needed once more.

Victoria, her proud servant, ended the dreams and nightmares of thousands in one night, and once her master fell she was the last... The last true vampire alive in England. Because of this, the last of Hellsing's concerns had simply faded away.

And on the edge of that city they stood, and neither would look back. It was time to start again, time to find a new beginning and move on. Goodbye to the past. Goodbye to any friends and comrades they left behind.

They said last prayers as they left that godforsaken hellhole. As Victoria kissed goodbye her humanity. As Sir Hellsing bade farewell to her fallen slave. As Heinkel Wolf crawled from the wreckage, wrapped in bandages, the blood of The Angel Of Death dripping from her blistered hands...

All the while the other dwindling survivors pulled themselves from the ruin that was once their great capital. Those whre the few who would die in the coming hours, or slip into madness. Sweet madness and denial of what just occurred. They all bid farewell.

Farewell our fallen world, all has come crashing down.

Six years since London Burned. Five years of silence, of madness, of bedlam. One Year of life as it once was, as it could have been.

Six Years since she was left alone.

Ah ...My Master ...My Servant.

How shall we begin anew, when our own world has been destroyed?

--

((Authors note: well, well, welcome to what may be my first continuing fic. I'm really going to be taking a risk with this...I'll try to keep everyone in character and have a good storyline, but writing a fic where I completely control the destinies of these characters...thats a little bigger then my normal aspirations. XD

So yeah...This is a rather experimental storyline, and it may not be up to my normal standards, and things might get just the slighest bit off balance, but I hope to stay in character. See ya.))


	2. Do You Believe In Ghosts?

**((AUTHORS NOTE: Gaaah, thanks for the watches and reviews guys. I wanted to give you guys a heads up...I already had a very basic and yet very 'Suni-like' plot in my head when I started this, and this plot may be far from what you want to see...It probably won't get to every character, and it focuses on three characters...but let me say this...If I told you, say, this story was a passionate yaoi between Anderplant and dead!card would you still read it? xD Well, don't worry, it is NOT a yaoi fic about those two. DO NOT worry about that, but I'm just saying...be prepared to see..well, be prepared to see some interesting things that I highly doubt will actually happen after the manga ends, but that have been in my mind for a few weeks...be prepared for character revival aswell, at least, in some aspect. And be prepared for the upcoming chapter. Please folks, bear with me.))**

"Seras...Get my coat, please."

Integral murmured under her breath, as she sat in the corner. Avoid them all, it would help make this experience so much better. Just sit down. Wait. Speak only when spoken to by people of any relevance. Her servant appeared beside her and wrapped the coat around her shoulders.

"Is something bothering you, Integra?" The girl whispered.

"No..." Integra shook her head and then stood, looking around the room. Stupid, foolish people. It was not her idea to be here, it was required. An obnoxious screeching she supposed was a violin began to play over the gossiping crowd. Fantastic. They couldn't even hire a decent musician.

Nothing more then some trivial party, although she couldn't fathom what in gods name they where celebrating... So they invited her? They always did. Every damn year. This was just one sad occasion where she could not turn them down, afterall, if she didn't get out of the house every once and awhile to mingle they'd start suspecting something...Paranoid idiots...

Only a few more hours left and she could return home, change out of the horrid gown she was wearing, and get back to more important matters. She looked at her watch one last time, Only half an hour had passed, and she surveyed the crowd again. A few political figures, some royalty, though no one too mentionable. ...and among them about five or six poor young men catering to this harsh crowd. She almost felt sorry for them, afterall, they where probably as happy to be here as she was. She shook her head and laughed under her breath. At least they where getting paid to hand out beverages and snacks to these fools.

No. Things where not what they used to be, infact, Integra could go as far to say that this country had fallen into a terrible state...No...It had. Ever since Queen Elizabeth's death two years ago...Still, she survived the war, she survived to lead the country out of it...

That much was enough for one lifetime.

...That thought alone was enough to bring about a wave of melancholy...

Ah, it seemed Seras was all she had left. This entire building was rather draining, for in addition to the Queens passing, she could not help but look at the caterers, how they gracefully balanced the plates in hand and passed through the crowd, how they reminded her of Walter back in her childhood...

She smiled and shook her head, then looked back to Seras.

"Come...I think we should be going now."

The girl rose from her chair, and bowed to her master before joining her side.

"Yes, Sir Hellsing."

How Miss Victoria had changed since she first joined Hellsing, both as a person and in appearance...She had let her hair grow out just abit longer, it now hung at her shoulder blades, though she still kept it spiked. Ever since her first taste of blood her eyes glittered like rubies, especially so in the moonlight. She never could fully regenerate her arm, and it was now a mass of shadows and blood by her side, that did not trouble her, she merely covered it, and wore gloves when she was in public. No one knew, and the shapeshifting abilities that came with it where a great aid to her.

She no longer sported the tight miniskirt of her early years, but black slacks... Really, she had altogether a much more professional wardrobe these days...Although the buttons on her vest where ready to burst.

She was a proud vampiress, the blood of The No Life King flowing her her delicate veins, She had embraced her new life, and become a true nosfertu...and in these days, she was among the strongest of the vampire's left.

Though despite her status, that was not a high comparison...These days there where few vampires left in Europe...Their numbers steadily dwindling...

How much longer would The Hellsing Organization even be needed?

The two where just on their way out the door when they where called to a hault.

"Sir Hellsing...?" Integra turned to face the man stopping her. Sir Islands. Hmm. Amazing he was still living.

"Yes, It's very good to see you. It has been too long." She shook his hand and walked with him away from the door, masking her irritation.

Sir Hugh Islands, the second most powerful at the Round Table. No doubt he never believed Integra to be the best leader for Hellsing... Perhaps his mind was too clouded by his memories of Arthur to really accept her. He was a good enough man, he just never seemed to understand Integral, or her methods...and in his old age he was getting increasingly picky with such matters. She sometimes wondered if he was starting to go senile.

Although he began a kind enough conversation she knew it would soon change to whatever harsh critiques he could throw at her... This could range anywhere from slander against her own personal views, to insulting her use of Seras Victoria outside the battlefield... Which seemed to be the case this afternoon.

"Ah...So you've brought your servant with you..." He added casually, after ending his small talk about the music that was playing. Though the tone in his voice was more or less the kind of casual talk one uses to get away with insults.

"Yes. I do this quite often. I'm afraid I was not aware, is there some sort of restriction against that?" She returned in a ridged tone. Seras stood with her head bowed, eyes scanning every detail of the floors tiles.

The man exhaled in a most irritable way, then added, in a rush to change subjects, "Well, I assume you'll be joining us at the memorial on sunday?"

Integra's muscles tensed for a moment. One of the waiters passed by and she took a glass of wine from his tray, taking a sip, before a smirk came up the side of her mouth.

"Yes of course. I always attend... It is quite amusing to see how many names you'll leave off, and how many pigs you'll over glorify... Well, I'm afraid I must be off Sir Islands, I have alot to attend to tonight"

She turned to Seras and motioned in the direction of the door, then turned and walked out with the girl, leaving the old man in a shocked and offended state. In recent times bickering among the rest of the Convention of Twelve had grown customary. It was amusing really, but she had been highly strung with Sir Islands ever since Enrico Maxwell perished in the war... Yes...Rather funny... Although she and Sir Islands where much closer in their beliefs he was almost replacing Iscariots old leader.

Although all eleven of her comrades seemed to have turned on her in the past four years...There had been a rift really, and they didn't seem to tolerate her more unorthodox methods these days. Hellsing had never been in the favor of anyone but the Queen, the use of vampires to do so much of their work was too much for some to handle... And learning Seras Victoria was continuing this tradition even after Alucards apparent death...

No, they simply could not cope with that. They found such ideas and methods to be completely ludicrous...

So once again they would be gathering this sunday for an annual memorial to those lost... Sir Penwood had a nice enough mention last year, aswell as at the first memorial... That seemed good enough... Walter was not so much as mentioned, The names of The Wild Geese where just skimmed through, and of course no vampires could possibly be mentioned. It disgusted her, really...Good God! They could at least hint about him. ...The Queen herself would have wanted him to be honored in some way...

Integra was lost in thought on her way to the door, and Seras was merely disgusted by all the slander against her and her master... Neither one noticed the waiter who was passing by with a tray of wine. Integra was too pre-occupied to see him walk infront of her, and even Seras' reflexes where not quick enough to stop the tray as it slipped from the mans hands and onto Sir Hellsings dress. Red wine splashed across her gown, staining the silk. It wasn't long before the panicked shouts of the waiter where attracting the attention of everyone in the room. A new spectator was turning their attention to the scene with every pathetic _"Sorry!"_ and _"I'll clean this up..." _that escaped the poor mans lips.

The three glasses he was carrying had shattered on the floor, and Integra was ready to just storm out, get in the car, and smoke as many cigars as she could. The stains on the dress didn't bother her, she hated it anyway, and seeing the red wine splashed across it merely reminded her of bloodstains from the old days at Hellsing...

No, it was this entire evening that was getting to her. She looked down as the flustered waiter began to sweep up the mess of glass on the tile floor. She watched as he franticly tried to sweep the glass onto the serving tray... He seemed to have little experience, infact, it amazed her that he was even hired here...She shook her head, _"Damn, they'll probably be kicking him out soon...It doesn't look like that fool can do anything..." _she thought. She only felt more vindicated when he let out a small yelp, cutting his finger on the broken glass.

She walked around him, taking a few steps closer the the door then told Seras to go ahead. She felt pity for him, and so she turned to him and leaned down.

"Look, Don't fret over me, just get a mop or something and clean this up, I don't want you losing your job over me..." She murmured, with as soft a tone possible. She was hardly used to addressing anyone that way, and her soft and compassionate tones always sounded rather awkward.

He was probably her age, she doubted he could be any older, and he seemed rather jittery. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back from his face, and the his emerald eyes scanned the floor looking over the shattered pieces, he was making very little progress... He was going to lose his job tonight, wasn't he...? Nevertheless, he looked up and finally made eye contact with Sir Hellsing.

"Yes..._Ma-_" but before he could finish he found another shard of broken glass stabbed into his already bleeding finger.

"Yes...M-madam..." he finished, now sucking on his wounded finger. "But, Honestly, I'm sorry..."

But her reaction at this same time, as she looked into his eyes was far more shocking, and the glass of wine she was still holding slipped from her hands and hit the floor.

_I know him...I've seen him before...I've heard that voice._

"You...?"

She stood frozen for a few seconds, before turning suddenly and running out of the building to meet Seras outside, and slip into the back seat of her car. The draculina phased through the car door and sat next to her, as Integra said quickly "Drive, back home. I'm done here..."

Her breathing was finally slowing to a more normal pace, the pounding of her heart was quieting, and she pulled a tin of cigars out of her coat, lighting up.

"Sir Integra! Integra, What's the matter." The girl stuttered, her faint human emotions kicking in.

"Bloody Hell...You...You look like you've seen a ghost!" She murmured, trying to look at her leaders eyes, but Integra's harsh blue orbs where looking out the window, and she was slipping into deep thought once more.

"...Do _you_ believe in ghosts...Miss Victoria?..." She whispered, as she blew a ring of smoke through the vehicle.

**((Hey guys, thanks for reading...um...did anyone seem OOC? please tell me now, its so hard to write about these things, normally I write fics that go hand in hand with the manga, and OOC is impossible...but I'm a little worried about this...anyway, REVIEW PLEASE. Pretty please. Oh, and happy Valentines day, even though Singles Awareness day is really just hallmards excuse to sell cards...oh well, At least I'm not single this year. XD**

**Anyway, have a good day tomorrow, even if its really just like every other day. xDD ))**


	3. A New Disturbance

**((One more chapter down. xD Well, this story does have a plot, trust me, I'm just trying to set up said plot still...also, I'm not one of those artists who writes everything then posts...nope, too impatiant. I come up with an idea, write, then post, then write more...subject to change just a tiny bit over time. Thanks for the reviews guys, I love you all, and I'm glad this has been enough to get your interest.))**

"Are you trying to say it's none of our concern?"

Integra took her hand off the phone and slipped her shoes off, while using her shoulder to keep the receiver to her ear. She then loosened her tie and set the cross pin on her dresser, carefully leaving it among the little jewelry she owned.

"You are far less stubborn then your predecessors, but I cannot ignore this! ...Catholic territory or not, they are far too close to our borders, and I will see them disposed of..."

She lifted her hand back up to the receiver and held it a short distance from her ear, to avoid the coming assault, and after several minutes of shouting on the other end, she finally brought it back up to her mouth.

"I understand. However, It would be greatly appreciated if you could perhaps put your superiors on the line... Infact, do alert Miss Wolfe that it is of the highest importance we arrange a meeting..."

There was a short pause before a scowl spread over Sir Hellsings face and she pulled the phone away, setting it down on the dresser. Those pigs hung up.

She took off her coat and other clothing, and walked to her bathroom, turning on the water. Tomorrow. If they where going to treat her like that, there was no point in arguing, she'd simply have to take matters into her own hands. But she would do it tomorrow. When she could think better.

On any normal occasion such affairs would have been settled in a more professional matter, but she had just received the unnerving report from her men at the same time she was ready to retire for the night...

Apparently a number of vampires had been active in Northern Ireland, far closer then they had been to the area in at least four years. These days attacks had drastically slown down, one vampire in england alone was uncommon, but reports of at least a dozen tearing through homes in Ireland, murdering whole families, drinking their share...That was truly strange in these times.

It was nothing Hellsing could not handle, Seras was more then adequate for such a task, but numbers like that seemed suspicious... Either this lot had been in hiding, or they where gathering from different countries, either way something was up... To make matters worse, the Iscariots still viewed Ireland as their territory. Nonetheless, Integra couldn't help but feel guilty pleasure in such news, maybe they would have something worth working for in the coming months... Or at least this trouble would distract her from recent events. Three days had passed since her encounter at the party... Dear god, she hadn't even faced the rest of the convention of twelve, rumors where already spreading, they where probably starting to doubt her sanity.

She exhaled as she slipped into the warm water, washing away the stress of her work day. That man was not who she thought he was, that was impossible...The face wasn't quite right, the voice was wrong...The personality was very far from accurate...

No, it was much more like a fleeting glimpse, like seeing someone out of the corner of your eye...

_"I wonder if he's still employed..." _She thought, as she began to lather her long hair... She looked up and stared at the mirror in her bathroom, looking over her self as she thought... That had to have been one of the most idiotic things she had ever done! Why did she leave the room? Why didn't she just face the man, but no, she broke down...broke down over some fleeting memory...She let herself slip under the water for a few seconds before resurfacing and rinsing off her slender frame. She then wrapped the warm towel tightly around her and walked from the room to find her night clothes and get some rest...She reached into her drawer about to slip into a flannel nightshirt and pants when she relised had forgotten one thing ..._No, wait, not time yet_... She instead slipped her slacks back on, and put on a pressed white shirt and headed down the hall to her office. Upon entering the usual air of melancholy swept though, it wasn't so much a sad feeling radiating from the walls as it was fatigue...almost as if the room itself cried out for rest.

She flicked the light switch and the room was immediately washed over with the cool light of the over head fixtures. She walked straight passed her desk and looked out over the grounds.

In the years past the war the Hellsing mansion had too changed, it took a year or so to repair all the damage and rebuild. Originally it had been intended for them to move to new headquarters, but there was no leaving these grounds... This house called out to any person who had ever lived their, it was home, no matter how many dark memories it housed...

Besides, she couldn't force Seras to leave this place, it was her _only_ true home... Integra looked over at her fathers painting, which had been damaged since the attack, then turned to face the doorway, just as Seras emerged from the floor.

"Good evening, Sir Integra." the girl whispered, giving a bow almost reminiscent of her master, causing a smile to spread across Integra's face. Seras had developed alot of Alucards traits, whether she relized it or not. She was slowly getting that same amount of vampiric pride, her powers where far more advanced then any other vampires her age, and she was even picking up his old bothering skills. Seeing her phase in through the floor so often was almost as bad as how her master used to drop in through the ceiling... History just seemed to keep repeating itself. Still, despite the similarities, she still maintained her bubby charm, nosferatu or not she did have a profoundly human side she would never part with.

Seras strolled over to her master, a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

"Good morning, I'm afraid." Integral responded, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Judging by your expression... I take it you've already been informed?"

Seras nodded "Yes..", she said "I overheard it from a few of the soldiers... Are you sending me out soon, Integral?"

Sir Hellsing shook her head "No...I hope to make peace with the vatican before we send anyone out to deal with it."

Seras shrugged and sat down the desk.

"Why does that really matter..." She mumbled, looking away from Integra. "I mean...Since when have you ever cared about..." but girl shut her mouth and looked back up at her master.

"Sorry if I said the wrong thing..."

Integral shook her head.

"No, I say with deep regret that we'll have to simply bear with it and wait for a response...Although those swines just hung up on my a few hours ago...I'll have to have a word with Heinkel Wolfe about the people she employs."

She leaned in past Seras, picking up the box of cigars that sat next to her.

Seras yawned, then grabbed the lighter off the desk, holding up the flame to the cigar that was now in her leaders hand.

"Thank you...Seras."

The girl nodded, before sliding off the desk and right though the floor. Integra exhaled and looked around the now empty room.

"Well, aren't you a show off tonight." She said, smirking, as she turned off the light.

------

Seras slid though the floors of the manor, finally reaching the cellars, and her own room. The basement was the only area of the mansion that was mostly undamaged, she was happy with that, although she always would remember how strange it was to descend her room after the war ending...finding her old living space like a time capsule, just the way she left it before everything went to hell, untouched by the events of the past hours.

She easily pulled open the heavy metal door to her chambers, and walked inside, not bothering with the lights... Her vampiric vision was so advanced now she rarely bothered with them. She slipped off the vest and shirt she had been wearing, replacing it with a plain white tanktop, then walked to the corner kicking open a large trunk. Inside she stored her weapons, for she had started collecting handguns in the recent months. Despite her usual methods of battle, shadows and hands only, she did enjoy going out of the firing range... But she was not in the trunk for her guns tonight... She lifted a few of the firearms out of the way before pulling up the lid to a compartment and staring at the item inside. She smiled, running her hand down the object inside. She then let out a reminiscent sigh before closing the compartment back up.

_"I wonder if anyone knows I kept it..." _ She thought, a chill running down her spine... suddenly a familiar voice rang through her head, more then happy to respond to her thoughts... _"Well, I doubt zey would notice anyway, mignonnette."_

Laughter escaped the girls lips, "Well!...I never asked you..." she muttered, giggling,before she shook her head and stood back up. "Anyway, I'm going out to the shooting range..." she muttered, this time reaching around the trunk and lifting the rather large object that was propped up behind it. Pulling the item out into view she smirked and grabbed her ammo box aswell.

The 30MM anti-midian cannon...The Harkonnen. She hadn't used it in ages...

Before she could do much, however, the voice began to chime in her head once again...How in the world could Alucard have survived with so many familiars? She could barely block out Pip!

_" 'ey, I 'eard zat! ...Well, anyway, is it just me, or is somezing on the Ice Queen's mind...? I 'eard what she told you a few nights ago, not to put down ze woman of steel, but eet zounds like eh bunch of-"_

Seras closed her eyes tightly, trying to focus and block out the french menace, and after a few minutes she managed to tune out the sound of his voice...She couldn't think of what life would be without him but nonetheless, he was such a problem some days...

She grabbed the Harkonnen again and lifted it up over her back, walking out of the room, and running off to the target field.

**((I feel as if I said 'smile' and 'smirk' waaaaay too many times in one installment. Ehhhhh...ah well, I love you guys, thanks for reading ...again.))**


	4. Emeralds and Sapphires

"...and as we gather today we realize just how precious life is... Our loved ones who we parted with far too soon may never be replaced, but we may still fill that gap in our hearts... Each day we remember how these people effected us, each day we show bits and pieces of them in our actions. We are all in some way connected to the men and woman who protected our country, or to the innocent ones who died that night... Through our good memories and our love, they live on... Through rebuilding this city, they live on. In honor of them today I commemorate..."

There are some moments in life when ones mind starts to wander. The sound of voices in the background soon begin to fade and you find yourself alone in your own world, rethinking events long past. When you find yourself standing in a place you never thought you'd see again, with a clear view of a city long gone you begin to re-invision it all. The houses and hotels begin to take shape once more, Big Ben rises up from the ashes, and the cityscape dusts itself off and is once more at its former glory. Sir Integra and Seras Victoria stood at the edge of the memorial, looking over its view of London. It was the anniversary of that day, and as Sir Islands had previously stated, the annual memorial service. She always attended, though it was more out of amusement then respect. She never came out here anymore, if she could help it. That private army of hers was sent to patrol every night, a ruined city was the first place a vampire would hide if it ever crossed to england.

Herself, however, preferred to avoid this place whenever possible. It was nothing to her, she lived in the present and she had long since bid farewell to those who had passed. Still, despite her refusal to dwell on old tragedies, she still could not help but feel reminiscent for one month out of the year. It was somewhat of an excuse for her. It was the only time she would openly surrender to her memories and hidden wishes. That one month out of the year where she could see them reflected all around her, like a shattered mirror. Her memories where not so stirred by the day they left her, but by the days leading up to it... The days between Seras' arrival and Millenniums final attack. A total of twenty-nine days.

This was the only time of year when she would walk down the hall and feel an all too familiar chill down her back, and long to hear a taunting voice behind her. The only time of year when she would faintly hear the sound of delicate tea cups clattering in the kitchen, and occasionally catch the scent of herbs and spices, if not for only a second. The only time when she could almost hear the targets out on the field being shot to pieces, hostages and all. The only time when she would hear the name Iscariot and scowl, thinking of Maxwell rather then Wolfe. These where the days she missed the taunting, the screaming, the laughing, and the gunshots that came with each day Alucard and Seras chose to irk eachother to no end...

There she stood today, clothed in a black suit and hat, Seras by her side listening to some woman's speech drone on and on. Neither of them could hear it anymore, they just heard the wind blow through the trees as their vision drifted from the city of London, to the names etched into the wall of marble before them. Thousands of names. So many thousands of names.

Seras held a black umbrella over her head, shielding the sunlight. It was 4:00 in the afternoon, the sun would be setting before they returned to their home, but until then she still felt uncomfortable and clutched the umbrella in her gloved hands. All through the day people had come and gone, they came from all over the country, Integra could never understand that. How could a wall of names mean that much to them... It was trivial in her opinion. It had no connection to their family and friends.

She watched the people come and go, some laying flowers and candles, some stopping to look out onto the city. Most where casual, others where dressed up to some extent. This place was open all year round, but naturally, the turnout was larger today. She turned to Seras with a gesture of the hand to follow, and began to weave through the crowd to get away from the site. That was when she saw him again, as she walked past the many civilians coming and going. She met his eyes for a moment, Emeralds and Sapphires locking gazes with eachother. Seras had her head bowed, still bothered by the light of day, but she sensed a change in her master and looked back up, just in time to see the man approach the wall, set down a rose and appear to pray. Integral had stopped and moved to the side, watching him. He seemed no different then he had been a few days prior, apart from the fact that he was dressed less classy and his hair was hanging down in his face. She could almost make-out a bandage wrapped around his slender finger.

Seras was yet again puzzled by her leaders actions... She did recognize this man from that party, she recognized him from a time before that aswell, A person who simply could not be.

She tightened her grip on the umbrella as the man stood, and turned in Integrals direction. Something about his gaze put Seras on nerve, no, it wasn't _his_ gaze really. It was more the way he and Integra saw eachother. It was more or less a dream, like they where looking on at two spirits and questioning eachothers very existence. Integra knew what she spoke of, she was not one to make mistakes or to let her emotions get in the way of a higher goal. She simply had to be at least somewhat correct about her assumptions, no matter how insane they seemed.

That night on the drive home. She said she knew that foolish waiter. She spoke of time and space, and anything that might explain her experience. She asked the draculina if she had felt anything, any presence. Seras said no with all the truth in her heart. There was no energy in that room, there was no tapping in her head, there was no uplifting force she used to know... Pip did not even stir, he seemed to be completely dormant in her that night.

This man raised his hand for a moment, trying to flag Integra down, or at least tell her not to leave. He shuffled through the multitude before reaching her, and nodding this head slightly he began to speak.

"I'm...So sorry if I'm interrupting you, or anything like that... I, well, I doubt you remember me, but I-"

Integra held up her hand and silenced him.

"No..." she spoke "...I do know you. I am the one who should apologize, as I said then. Interesting meeting today, isn't it?"

He bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair for a moment.

"Yes...Yes, it is...rather funny...Isn't it..." He mumbled, his head down once more, looking up at her. All the while he seemed rather uneasy, though that was starting to seem the normal behavior for him.

"Of course...I guess everyones here at some point, right? ...I come here every once and awhile." he added.

"Yes, I suppose." She said in response, masking her obvious disagreement.

"...Nice speech that woman gave...It was, you know..it was kind of...uplifting." He muttered, shifting the weight on his feet.

Integra one nod. "Yes." She replied "I suppose one could say that, it was lacking at some moments, but she said a few good words... How is your job going, if it isn't too sensitive a subject to pry into."

He shook his head, "No, no... it's fine." he paused and looked out on the now setting sun. "I admit...I'm sort of... inbetween work right now... Oh, but it has nothing to do with what happened between us, it was something else entirely...about an hour after you left actually..." He had added on that last part in sudden urgency, and once again bit down on his lip.

Integra looked over him once more... He was a rather sorry sight, she'd never seen someone that jittery, was he always this way? She knew this face, apart from some minor differences, but she felt disproved with every word he spoke.

"I never learned your name." She said, suddenly, and barely even hearing his last words. "Would you be so kind as to tell me?"

A look of shock spread over his face. "Oh, I...I didn't say?... really, sorry...Vladimir Layne." He said quickly, then held out his hand, although Integral did not shake it. He paused still holding it out, before Seras reached out and shook it, simply to spare him the embarrassment. Sir Hellsing stood, once more running her cold blue eyes over his face.

"I am Sir Integral Hellsing... I was nice to talk to you again, Vladimir..." She said, still looking at him, and then taking a piece of paper from her suit pocket. She pulled a pen from the inside of her coat and began to scribble something down, and after a few seconds handed a phone number to him.

"I would like to speak with you again in the future, and I also believe I could offer you employment...Lets go now, Seras, We've been here far too late."

The vampire nodded, a dumbfounded look on her face, and followed quickly. They where a few blocks past when Seras walked ahead of her and finally looked her in the face, desperately seeking her leaders exact motives to the unnatural events of the day.

"Sir Integra! Wait...Wait a minute...What the bloody hell was that...?"

**((...Gaaaahhhh...FIrst encounter and all. That was such a horrible writers block, and I also live in fear of what my readers will think of my story's progress... XD Okay, okay, I'm reading reviews. Yes, I'm trying to crack down on my own grammatical errors, I really should be getting someone to proof-read this...but for some reason I have an odd issue with doing so, I can't explain it, but having others proof-read just puts me on nerve and embarrasses me... thats not a very good excuse eh? Yeah, I'll try and look for some one to help me with this... Xx Hope that chapter was good enough for you guys... Sometimes I feel like I'm standing over a pit of starved lions and tossing down a piece of meat trying not to get bitten. xD Nah, I kid, you guys are great readers, I love you all. ...So, how'd you like the chapter? (And how'd you like OVA IV? Ohh Rip was AMAZING. As was her death scene...Alucards tongue sexy. xD) ))**


	5. Welcome to Hellsing

Integra tossed and turned in her sleep, tormented by whatever warped thoughts had weaved their way into her dreams. The rest of her room sat undisturbed, her suit folded and sitting on a chair in the corner, her tie and cross laid out on her dresser. Everything in perfect order, except for the frightened moans escaping her lips. A chill set over the room, and a thin fog wafted in through the cracked open window.

A gloved hand rested on Integra's shoulder, a cold and familiar hand awakening her from her nightmares. She groaned and opened her eyes halfway, rolling over to face the man behind her.

"...A...lucard...?"

She rubbed her eyes and reached for the glasses sitting on the table.

"Of course." she muttered, rising to face him.

A sly smirk spread over the vampires face has he inched closer to her.

"Yes... I'm here, my master, Integra..."

She tossed the blanket off and stood, grabbing a lighter off her nightstand, then shuffling through the drawer for her cigars.

"Don't you know those will kill you eventually?... or do you simply rely on your endurance to push away any diseases?"

She opened the small box and shoved one into her mouth, tossing him the lighter.

"So sorry Alucard, but I don't recall asking you for advice on my health." She muttered, leaning in and letting him light the cigar. She took a long drag, then crossed to the window.

"It's a beautiful night... Isn't it?" He whispered, as he silently crept up behind her.

"Yes... very..." She said nonchalantly, as she surveyed the room, turning away and now ignoring Alucard. Her eyes finally came to rest on a pocket calendar on her nightstand, and the year '2005' written across the top. Her eyes widened. The hand holding her cigar shook abit, but she gripped it firmly and turned sharply to face him.

"You're not supposed to be here."

He burst into laughter and pushed past her, laying down very casually on her bed and closing his eyes for a moment.

"Not supposed to be here because I am banned from your bedchambers, Or not supposed to be here because this is _not_ 1999, and I am no longer part of this world? Integra, you have such an attention to detail..." he chuckled, eyeing the calendar.

She scowled before grabbing him by the shirt collar and pushing him off the bed.

"For both reasons, actually..." She muttered, rubbing her temples. She was in for a rough night.

"Now please stay off of there, just because you're not really here doesn't mean you can overstep your bounds, You're still my slave. Act like it." She added, with a more raised voice.

Alucard recovered immediately, standing and brushing off his coat and almost pouting for a moment.

"Well...What are you doing here, then?"

She said, breaking the silence and sitting down on her bed.

"The same reasons as always, Master, I'm sure you realize that..."

She closed her eyes for a moment, before finally responding.

"Yes... Yes, I do. You come here less and less, that is why you caught me off guard. The first year you would come to me everynight, sometimes I could swear you where here even while I was awake... Then the days inbetween these dreams lengthened...Now its been at least six months since we last spoke...You're fading away... again."

Alucard took off his sunglasses and set them on the nightstand.

"I only came because you wanted it, you needed me those first months... You do not anymore. You're more then fine without me, Master."

She shook her head.

"You make it sound like I want you gone..." She held the cigar up to her lips again, and another thought passed her mind. "...Alucard?"

He looked right into her eyes for the first time that night and nodded.

"...Are you really here? I know that I am dreaming, but I also know that means nothing... You always used to invade peoples thoughts... Are you really here in my mind, or have I created all of this?" She leaned over to the ash tray and snuffed out the cigar, then leaned back in bed, closing her eyes.

He kneeled beside her, his raven hair falling down over his face, then, after a moment, raised his head just abit. Another grin spreading to reveal his white fangs.

"Master... You told me once that your world and mine are the same... So then, Integra... Do _you_ believe that I'm really here...?"

Integra opened her eyes, yawning and reaching for her glasses, the sun shining into the small, dark bedroom. She could already hear her men out on the target field, and Seras shouting out them. She glanced at her nightstand and stared at the cigar lying in the ashtray, before getting up and dressing.

Good Morning at the Hellsing Org.

-------

Integra sat in the library sipping her tea and shuffling through the pages of her great grandfathers journals, as Seras casually strolled in, setting a mug on the table.

"You're up early, I knew I heard you out with the troops a few hours ago..." Integra surveyed, as the former police girl threw herself down on the couch across from Integra and picked up a dusty book from the table. She flipped it open and stared at the notes.

"So... Abraham Van Hellsing's research from... 1899 - 1900..." She muttered, setting it back down and looking over the rest of them sprawled out on the table. She yawned, her small fangs sparkling in the light, and smiled at Integra.

"Yeah, Its early, but I have alot to do, besides, you said something about wanting to talk to me last night?"

Integra closed the book halfway, holding it in her hand and leaving her thumb inbetween the pages to mark her place.

"Yes, We're having a guest here today, Seras. Infact, we have a new employee." She said, reaching down to her cup and taking another drink.

Seras thought for a moment before her eyes went wide.

"No... You, you mean?"

Integra's mouth parted for a moment in something almost like a smile.

"Vladimir. Servant... I think he'll do alright."

Seras merely stood at her for a moment, before reaching down grabbing the mug, and taking a big sip of the thick red liquid inside.

"Its not my place to question my masters decisions, but I can't help but ask..." She trailed off as her eyes wandered over a few books on quantum mechanics that where sitting perfectly arranged next to the journals.

Integra set the journal down on the table, drank the last of her tea, and crossed her legs.

"Yes Seras, Contrary to popular belief I have thought this out well enough."

Seras gasped and shot up her hands, speaking quickly in her own defense "No, no! I...I wasn't suggesting that you where-"

Integra reached over and lowered the girls hands.

"I did not say that you did. I know that this seems rather... odd, but you understand that I cannot ignore this."

Seras lowered her head for a moment. "Yes Master..." she whispered, before drinking more of the blood from her mug.

Integra's eyes shifted to the window.

"I do not know if my assumptions are correct, but I am at least sure that this is not a coincidence. I also realize the obvious differences between the two, but I really can't say what he would be like if he had no memory of his past life. It was hell that made him who he was, and Vladimir seems rather well off, apart from the unemployment issues."

Seras nodded.

"I'll watch him..." She smiled abit. "It might be fun...but... How could he be human? ...and why can't I feel him?"

Integra responded, "Yes... I'm not quite sure. I'm still unraveling that part... I know Schrödinger could only exist if he could identify himself. He was them, they where him. They where all one, so they all had Schrödinger's power."

She stood and stared out the window, facing away from Seras.

"If one could decide who he was, then they would exist once more in whatever way they identified themselves...theoretically." Integra added, turning to Seras with a smirk.

"I also plan to research Mr. Laynes background, I have a strange feeling that it will come up a complete blank."

The girl blinked and looked up at her.

"...My God, you have been working on this haven't you?... So, he's coming today? When?" She said, with a rather upbeat tone of voice. But her question did not need an answer, as one of Integra's servants tapped on the door.

"Sir Integra?" the young woman said, rapping lightly on the door.

Seras nodded to Integra. Then she closed her eyes, focusing for a moment, then opened them back up to show that the ruby color had been replaced with the light blue eyes she once had.

She stood, straitened her vest, and crossed to the doorway, opening it and facing the maid. Vladimir was standing right behind her, looking around the mansion with a rather overwhelmed expression. _He's going to break something... any minute now..._

"Come in." Seras said with a closed mouth smile, as not to show her teeth. As the maid left them, and he walked slowly into the room a sudden bout of laughter passed through Seras' head, and once again the frenchman inside began to chime in the back of her head.

_"Ha!...Zat's fantastique! 'Im? Alucard?!... 'onestly?! ...haha!..Oh! Someone IS losing zey're 'ead!"_

As she closed the door again, Seras muttered "Shut up, frog." under her breath, before passing over to Integra's side.

"Did you...say something?" Vladmir said quietly, looking back over to Seras.

She shook her head and smiled again, then suddenly noticed the half empty mug still sitting the table. She leaned over and grabbed it suddenly, drinking the rest of it in one big gulp. She looked up over the mug at Vladmir, then licked the red liquid off her lips.

"...Tomato soup." She muttered, noticing the unnerved look on his face. "...Its good." She added, then backed out of the room.

"Integra, I'm going... downstairs now, I'll leave you two to...to figure things out..."

She said suddenly, and slunk out the door before Integra could even protest. Sir Hellsing sighed and rubbed her temples for a minute, then looked at all the books on the table. She leaned over, and cleared them all off, quickly setting them in a box behind her chair before he would have any chance to see them, although she doubted he would be nosy enough to look. She turned around to see Vladimir still standing by the couch, looking around the room.

"Well? Are you going to sit down?" She said, taking her seat once more, and looking down into her empty teacup. He instantly sat, showing almost fear towards the woman before him. Integra looked back at him "oh...I'll have to have someone bring down some for both of us." She said, gesturing to the empty cup.

Vladimir bit his lip for a moment, before pulling out a rather large portfolio and setting it on the table. "H-here...I brought my-"

"Well? What's that for? You already have the job." She intervened, almost harshly. She adjusted her glasses, then took a cigar from her coat.

"...I would offer you one, but you don't seem like the type." She said, as he looked at the cigar in her hand.

She lit up and blew a smoke ring in his direction, causing him to cough several times, then took her other hand and pushed the papers back over to his side of the table.

"Well... Shall we get started? I have alot I have to inform you of, and I'm afraid I don't have the whole day."

------

Seras closed the door and exhaled deeply, still grasping the mug in her hands. She closed her eyes tightly and dropped through the floor, phasing through until she reached her bedroom. She then slammed the cup down on the table.

"What the blood hell where you thinking?!"

She shouted, slamming her hand down on her vanity. "You wouldn't quit laughing! I can't focus on anything else when you won't shut up!... He must have thought I was crazy!"

She pulled at her hair for a moment, then calmed down. She sighed and took off her vest and shirt, then stretched her real arm, aswell as the arm made of blood and shadow.

_"'ey! Seras, you plan to stay like zat?" _Pip's voice said, in reference to her current lack of a shirt.

"NO." She said firmly, as she pulled her dresser drawer open and slipped on a t-shirt, then fell back into her coffin.

_"Damnit... I was 'oping you'd at least take zat bra off..eh?"_

She pulled up the pillow over her head, holding it against her ears.

"Shut. Up. Pip." She groaned, trying to block out his annoying voice.

_"'ey, I thought zat you where busy today?"_

"... I am...I'm just taking a nap..."

There was silence in her mind for a few minutes, and she was finally drifting off when he added.

_"Anyway... if zee Iron Maiden is correct, zen zat would mean..."_

Seras lifted up the pillow and looked at the ceiling.

"Yeah. That would mean he's back."

She put her hands behind her head like a pillow, and continued to stare up, though her range of vision was now drifting through the ceiling and into the library.

"...if he is...You ready for it?"

**((OKAY! Jaa, new chapter. Some questions finally answered...sort of. Here are some notes... 1. Regarding Integra's dream. the line "Your world is my world" was taken from the OA. I like the OA. I don't like the story too well, but the rest is good. 2. Okay, You know why I chose Vladimir? Its a nice name. It can be shortened to Vlad, as in Vlad Dracula. Please note that Vlads full name was NOT Vladimir, is was Vladislav. I chose Vladimir because I thought it sounded better in a modern day context then Vladislav. xD Okays...So...umm...how many readers did I just lose? Ehh. I've been worried about this for awhile, as I know some people aren't going to re-act to well to it being Alucard that Integra seems to have found...Umm...reviews, plz? I luv j00, meh readerz. ))**


	6. Things Get More Interesting

Seras lugged the bags up the stairs and into one of the smaller bedrooms on the second floor. She pushed open the door with her mind, and dropped both bags roughly infront of the bed. She then turned around about to leave, but stopped, eying the rest of the room with sudden curiosity.

"Well, no harm." She said under her breath, as she slipped back into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked by the dresser and brushed her finger over it, picking up dust on her once white glove.

"There's your first job, Vlad..." She muttered, walking over to the bed and wiping her finger off on the sheet, hoping no one would notice the smudge of dust. She sat down on the bed, then stared down at the footboard, thinking of what was infront of it.

_"What 'ee doesn't know, cannot 'urt 'im."_

Seras shook her head, then sent a firm 'no' back to him. She laid back onto the bed again, resting her hands behind her head in a very casual way.

"..Where is he..." She muttered after a few minutes. "Shouldn't he be done with Sir Integra by now...?"

_"...Well, 'ee probably didn't survive zee encounter." _Pip said, laughing obnoxiously.

Seras sat up and exhaled, shaking her head. _" You know...What the hell have you got against Sir Integra? Tell me, I still haven't figured it out."_

She was answered by only a great deal more laughter, and felt him slip back into a nice dormant state.

"Or you can just dodge the question altogether..." She muttered sarcastically, jumping off the bed and kneeling by one of the two suitcases.

_Just a peek._

She ran her hand over one of the outer pockets, unzipping it half way and peeking inside.

A bottle of shampoo, a small container of Dramamine, a pack of mint gum, and a CD case. Seras rolled her eyes at the dramamine. _Well, you're just getting more and more normal each day... Lets see what you listen to... _She reached in, pulling out the case, and was about to unzip it when she heard footsteps a few feet down the hall. She sighed and shoved the CD case back into the side pocket, and zipped it closed again. She then stood up, walked out of the room and made her way down the hallway. It was a false alarm, however, and she merely passed Lily, one of the maids that worked here now. She was a nice, but somewhat stubborn, girl. Medium build, and light brown hair that fell down just past her shoulders. The most interesting thing about her though, was that she was the only one in the whole mansion that knew what Seras was, and was actually unnerved by it. This kept things lively, as she did her best to avoid the draculina whenever possible. As Lily walked past Seras today she looked to the ground and inched abit closer to the wall, keeping a larger distance between herself and the vampire. Seras couldn't help but smile when she did this, unintentionally baring her fangs. It was funny, really... Afterall, imagine how unnerved Lily would have been back when Alucard was still here. She chuckled under her breath, it was hard to imagine that back in those days she would have been upset to have people fear her... These days it almost felt like a right of passage, even if Lily was the only one who was scared. She reached the stairs, but decided to phase through them to reach the library door. The truth was, she had only perfected her technique two months ago, and she had been using it non-stop since then to get around the mansion. She closed her eyes and put her ear to the door, getting the full conversation at perfect volume.

Vladimir arrived this morning at 10:57... It was now a few minutes past 2:00 and as far as she could tell he had been in there all this time. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he already seemed so tense, she could only imagine how Integra made him feel.

_And now she's asking him questions that have nothing to do with what she's hired him for..._

She drew back away from the door and wandered down the hallways, walking over to a painting on the wall. It was not the same portrait that used to cover the entrance to the cellars, that one was destroyed ages ago, but this small area of wall was still somewhat meaningful to her, even if it had been bricked up. There was no way for a person to get down there, unless they broke down the walls. Seras was the only one with a room down there anymore, and no one else had a reason to come down. Seras didn't even use the halls anymore, she simply phased through the floor and straight down to her bedroom door. No one had really been down there in years... Integra was the last to spend much time down there... a few months after the war. As far as Seras knew Integra said goodbye for the last time the day the sublevels where sealed off. She only thought about the past one month out of the year... she never even mentioned them at other times. Infact, that lack of their memory was almost haunting in itself. It was not like that for Seras. She would think of Walter when she was doing the simplest of tasks, she remembered her Master more then often, and Pip... well, Pip was impossible to forget about... Metaphorically and literally.

She leaned in and pulled the painting away, staring at the now sealed over passage. She remembered Walter walking down those steps to her room, offering her the blood she'd never drink... She remembered Integra storming down the cells and into Alucards room... She fondly remembered all the yelling that echoed though the cells on days like that.

After she ran her hand over the bricks and concrete, she let portrait hang back down over the blocked door, and walked back down the hall in the direction of the library. Finally she heard the door swing open slowly, and watched Vladimir walk out, looking more under the weather then he did this morning. After he was a few feet out the door Integra came out and addressed Seras.

"If you could, show him to his room, Seras."

She nodded, "Sure, I was bored earlier, I already took the liberty of moving his bags up there..." She glanced back at Vlad, then to Integra. "Well...How did it go then?" She whispered.

"I'll inform you later, Seras. Now go, if you please." She replied, before passing them and heading down one of the corridors.

"Right then..." She responded, quickly grabbing Vladimir by the arm. "Come on then, I suppose I should be showing you around."

He jumped when she touched him, and struggled to keep up as she ran the two of them up the stairs and down the hallway.

"S-so...you...you work for Sir Hellsing then?" He managed to choke out inbetween breaths.

Seras stopped suddenly, let go of his arm, and opened up the door they had arrived infront of.

"Yeah, I do." She muttered, watching him trying to catch his breath as he leaned in the doorway.

"What...what do you do for her...?" He panted out, as he made his way cautiously into the room, then sitting down on the bed.

"Personal assistant, bodyguard, etc." She replied, now leaning into the wall in a very casual matter. "...That's the bathroom." she added, pointing to a door in the left corner of the room.

He lifted his head up and looked over at the door. "Sure... right..." He muttered, then laying his head back down in his hands. "...What goes on here anyway... that interview really didn't seem like normal procedure... and..."

He looked up suddenly at Seras. "Wait...bodyguard?...You..? what..."

She took one step back from the doorway looking down at the floor, then went about changing the subject.

"Right then, I guess your feeling okay, then. I have to go back and speak to Sir Integra." She glanced back over to him, noticing the semi-nausiated look that came over him when she mentioned Integra's name.

"So, okay, that's where I'll be...Umm... If you have to vomit or anything, it would be better to do it in the toilet then in the sink, you know, less trouble to clean..." She added quickly, roughing up her hair and stepping out of the hall.

Vladimir stood and darted over, leaning out the doorway "Wait! I wanted to ask you, are you-" but he stopped. Realizing the hall was completely empty, his heart beat faster...he swallowed and took a step back into his room, closing the door. Suddenly the idea of running to the bathroom and coughing up his breakfast seemed _very_ reasonable.

----

Seras phased up through the floor in Integra's office, phased through the desk, and sat down on it.

"Well, Sir, How did it go, he seemed a little upset, I'm not sure if we can-"

Integra turned and raised her hand in a silencing gesture, and Seras noticed she was on the phone. She nodded and kept quiet. Integra ran her hand over the chord listening to each word on the other end, and finally making her own statement.

"Yes...Yes... So You're willing to aid us then? ...If _you_ can be rational, _I_ can comply..."

Seras leaned back on the desk, laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling, but after hearing a few bits and pieces on Integra's end, she decided it might be something important enough to listen in on...

_"...Ja, That ist vhat I am proposing. They have already murdered several of my agents, and they are getting the publics attention. I do not vant to delay this anymore. A temporary truce ist in order, at least until ve completely eliminate them." _Said the womans voice on the other line.

Integra nodded, pausing for a minute. "...What information have you acquired?"

She waited for the woman's response, now tapping her hand on the desk next to Seras' head. Something close to worry was now spreading over the girls face, She sat up and watched Integra closely, reading every reaction, and listening to every side of the conversation, finally Integra spoke again.

"Yes... We'll meet then...Yes...yes, however much it plagues me, I do agree...Yes... Until that meeting then, Heinkel Wolfe." She pulled the phone away from her ear, pressing a button to hang up, then setting it back down on the table.

"What is it... What's wrong?" Seras asked the minute Integra hung up.

Sir Hellsing said nothing, but crossed from Seras over to the portrait of her father.

"Do you remember that report we received a week ago?"

Seras nodded.

"... They have moved. They breached our borders, arriving about an hour ago, This morning half of them hijacked a ship. The other half are still tearing up Ireland, they've spread themselves out aswell... But they seem to have it all organized...They seem to have an actual goal."

The girl nodded again, and interjected. "Well, sounds like...we can handle it..." she murmured, watching the dim light as Integra lit a cigar in the darkened room.

"No... It gets more interesting." She said gravely, turning and laying her hand down on a few papers on her desk. Seras reached down for them, and skimmed through the pages quickly, her eyes widening.

"But...no...no way..." She said under her breath.

"Yes..." Integra said, gravely. "They're all artificial. They're all FREAKs."

**((Bum bum, to be continued. Jaa. xD Vladimir needs Dramamine, or he gets really bad motion sickness. Yuppers. XDD... Yes, that is the most important plot point of this chapter. The Dramamine in the most important plotpoint...Oh noes... FREAKs? Artificial vamps? oh noes, they aren't important at all... No sir... Anyway, I updated kinda early, kinda short chapter... What do think of it? **

**Anyway, something interesting for you...I did a picture of Seras for this fic... Its on my DA page. (My DA is linked to on my profile here)))**


	7. The Convention of Twelve

Seras shuffled through the cupboards in the kitchen, It was 7:00 AM and she was completely exhausted. She had recently made it her goal to temporarily turn herself around to a more human lifestyle, but it was not working for her. She had taken a nap last night to try and rest for the coming day, but that did little to help, the light was not her friend, no matter how she looked at it. Nevertheless, it was all for Vladimir... Afterall, someone had to watch him, and Integra was busy all day... but then there was the problem with the FREAKs!

Nothing was mixing, nothing could have happened at a worse time...

_Maybe its just fate..._

Oh well, at least she wasn't alone in her panicked yet drowsy state. "Right! Here's the coffee... The rest of the servants live in another wing, and I don't normally drink it, so, you know... things get lost..." She said in an upbeat tone, as she sat the tin of coffee down on the table infront of the crumpled and half asleep mess that was Vladimir Layne.

He lifted his head to look over at her, but she was already fumbling with the coffee machine. He rubbed his eyes then dropped his head back down on the table with a heavy thump.

"So...exhausted..." He mumbled.

"You're not much a morning person, are you?"

She received a low groan in response, and something roughly along the lines of "I didn't sleep".

"Right..." She replied, turning on the coffee machine. "Well, you'd best get yourself turned around or I don't think you'll last too long here." She added, although she knew it was a complete lie, Integra would be keeping him here no matter what he did... It was just a priority right now to keep him employed, or else he'd grow suspicious. Of course, he already was suspicious, he just seemed to be keeping his mouth shut.

"I think I'll quit..." he mumbled "Then I can get a different job, a normal job...and then I'll get a nice house on the country side..." his voice was rather muffled and his speech was becoming little more then a tired ramble. "...and a dog... I'll get a big black shaggy dog..." he yawned... "...and name it..."

Seras leaned in over him suddenly, "Baskerville?" she interjected.

He lifted his head to look up at her with half open, yet surprised, eyes.

"...Yeah...actually..." He rubbed his eyes one more time, then brushed his hair away from his face, just as Seras slid a mug of coffee over the table to him. He would have questioned how Seras knew that, but he was too out of it in the morning to even fully notice the strange coincidence. The cup stopped about a foot infront of him, and he reached over, wrapping his slender fingers around the handle.

"Well, I don't see the point in quitting now, last I checked you only just started. You haven't even been here for a full day..." She remarked, then slid some cream in his direction.

He took a deep drink of coffee, then looked down and handed the cream back over to her.

"No thanks... I like it black." he stated, then took another drink. "...I'll stay...but this place just doesn't seem right, not to offend but..._you_ don't really seem right."

"Well, not a phrase new to me." She responded in a rather monotone way, as she stirred the cream into her coffee, then faked taking a sip. She then spaced off for a moment, looking around the room, up at the clock, over the countertops, and finally onto Vladimir's coffee mug, which he was still resting one hand on. She shrugged, looking at the pattern on the cup, then staring at the back of his hand for a moment, oblivious to the sounds that should have been ringing through.

"...Seras...I mean...Miss Victoria...are you listening...I...hello?"

Seras blinked a few times then rested her eyes once more on his face. "Oh, umm, sorry...what?"

"..Nothing...n-nothing at all..." He said, dropping whatever subject was on his mind before, Seras saw through that in an instant, but took no mind to whatever he may have once wanted to say.

"Oh, well, 'right then." She said, getting ready to shift her subject. She pointed to his hand. "What's that...?" She said in the most casual tone she could manage.

"What's...what..?" he took a moment to follow to where her eyes where resting, then answered. "Oh, that."

He looked down at the top of his hand. "I honestly don't know... scars, or something."

What both their eyes where resting on where several marks on his skin, scars from rather deep slices, and looking closely they almost seemed to resemble a pentagram, though it was extremely faint.

"What from?" she responded quickly, her heart started to race abit, then she suddenly stopped herself. "Oh...I'm sorry, Its not really any of my business." She said, nodding ever so slightly, though she believed it to be completely her business.

He shrugged "No, its not a big deal." he paused for a moment, thinking of the right words, then finally answered her question. "I don't really think I had these until the attacks on London...I was there when it happened, or at least on the outskirts of the city... yeah, I don't really remember much."

Seras lowered her head solemnly, things shifting into place, little by little. He noticed her actions and stood, walked over to set his empty cup on the counter, about to pour himself more. "...Its alright. I mean, I'm fine. I'm completely fine." He assured her, with a half smile on his face.

"Yeah...Yeah. I'm sorry, ...I have to be going soon. I was hoping to give you a run down this morning, but there's conference down the hall that I need to attend." She smiled back at him. "...but I won't be long." she stated, walking towards the door.

"Right... and I'm supposed to just sit here?" He said, exhaling and looking around the room.

"Oh..yeah... Tidy up the kitchen abit while I'm gone? Then when I'm back I can give you the whole tour thing...?" She said, uneasily, as she had almost completely forgotten everything that was supposed to be going on today. "Just...don't break anything, please." she added quickly to the end of her sentence.

He rolled his eyes at no one in particular.

"Once. That happened once." he mumbled, as she closed the door behind her.

-------

Integra re-examined the report as the round table conference was called into order. The Iscariots still had not arrived yet, only adding to her irritation over the recent events. She felt a cool chill down her back, just as Seras phased up through the floor, giving a bow to her master, and to the rest of them.

"Any news?" She said, as she sat down on the edge of the table next to Integra, much to the disgust of the other eleven englishmen in the room.

"No. We have yet to learn from the Iscariots about our new adversaries, though I doubt they'll know anything that we don't already."

Seras gasped and looked around the room. "Wha? They aren't here yet? They should be here by now, shouldn't they?"

Integra nodded, "Yes... Those fools... Although their tardiness really comes as no surprise."

Sir Islands looked across the table at Seras and scoffed, she merely smiled back at him in the most obnoxious way possible.

"Should that..._ thing_ really be attending, Sir Integra?" he muttered "My God, you let it run all over..."

Seras slipped off the table to stand next to Integra's chair, somewhat put off by the mans current behavior. Integra smiled somewhat, blowing smoke out over the table. "Yes. I do."

"Well, you never would let the previous family pet just trample over these affairs, and your father would have never-"

Integra slammed her hand down on the table, then, in a calm as possible tone added, "Why yes, Sir Islands. I would have _never_ let Alucard attend, but I believe Seras has a little more self control, you see, she's not the type to kill anyone who troubles me... and please, if you must compare me to my father, it would be crucial to note that during the time _you_ knew him best he was a pathetic little alcoholic." Her lips turned up into a smile.

"Now, if we could possibly continue the more important issues..."

Seras shot a small mocking grin at Sir Islands, as Integra shuffled through a few files infront of her. At this precise moment the double doors on the room where pushed open and several agents in priests robes stepped into the room, behind them was a woman about Integra's age, who was dressed the same, though a little more elaborate then the others. She had short dirty blond hair, and her face was badly scarred, the right half still covered by a few bandages to hide the severe damage. She was a rather muscular woman, and the cross dangling at her chest shined in the light as she entered.

"You're late, Wolfe." Integra murmured, not even turning to face the woman.

"Ja. There vhere some...delays." She replied, her thick accent causing each word to filling the room.

"Take a seat, please." Integra responded, gesturing to an empty chair at the table. She took several steps, her guards staying close behind her, as they _where_ in enemy territory, and took her seat.

Once seated and semi comfortable, she then pulled out a large envelope. "Vell, I am sure you have been vaiting for this. As have I." She slid the confidential papers out of the envelope, and laid them on the table, pushing them closer to the center.

"It vould seem that someone ist using Millenniums technology, und I have no doubt that they where previously involved." the left side of her mouth twitched up.

"Sir Integra, I do not celebrate the idea of working with you filth... but I vould be more then happy to kill every last one of these bastards."

As an outbreak of chatter began among the men, Integra turned to Heinkel and spoke over whatever theories and issues those fools where blathering on about.

"It looks as if they have several key points in their operation, and your reports say london. I believe they may be hiding out in some old building there, they could easily go undetected. I believe the attacks in Ireland where a diversion. I plan to send my men to patrol ever last corner of the city tonight."

Heinkel nodded, and added her plan, but Seras was now looking around the room in sudden concern. _Something felt wrong...very wrong..._

She looked up and took a sniff at the air. "...Sir Integra..." she whispered, Integra turned to face the girl behind her.

"Seras, what?"

She took a moment to look around the entire room, then suddenly that feeling faded away...no...something WAS here... just for a moment.

"Seras, _what?_" she asked again, just as the vampire came back to reality.

"Oh...Yes, nothing, Sir." She said quickly, with a small bow of her head.

Several hours passed at the same pace, as finally the convention of twelve poured out the twin doors, until only Integra, Seras, and Iscariot's leader remained. Seras paused, looking over the heavy arsenal Wolfe's body guards had under there robes, but said nothing, although she took a moment to run her hand down the scar on her neck that Anderson had left so many years ago.

Heinkel ran her hands through her hair, relatively tired, but pleased that the meeting was over. She adjusted the wrapping on her face and shook her head solemnly. "Leave." She muttered under her breath, causing her confused priests to walk silently from the room, though they where still concerned for their leaders safety. Seras glanced over at Integra, who merely nodded, and with that, she phased out the door.

"If it ist Millennium..."

"It can't be, they're all dead, Wolfe. Their cause is dead." Integra responded, opening her tin and offering Heinkel a cigar. She shook her head, but reached into her robe for a pack of cigarettes.

"...If I could use your lighter?" Integra slid the metal object over the table, as the other woman continued. "Ja...but ve are both sure that whoever ist involved vith it, once vorking under Millennium aswell."

"Yes... That is correct." She paused for moment, then added "...Heinkel? Are you... alright?"

There was no answer for a moment, but eventually she responded. "...Nein. It ist too much. Too much at once." she replied, shrugging.

"Hm...Don't worry yourself too much, Wolfe..._ I_ am experiencing a far more severe case of your same ailment." She stood, snuffed out her cigar and walked from the room.

------

"So they're staying here until this is sorted out?" Seras questioned, nervously.

"Yes..." she responded. "It will be easier that way... and harder."

Seras nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "We can't let them see Vlad, that's for sure... Not to pry, but what on earth did you two talk about."

Integra blinked and adjusted her glasses. "Oh, nothing. Just further theories, then we quarreled for abit." She pointed down the hall. "You should go see how he is doing, make sure he hasn't found out too much, or broken anymore glasses. If you wish to speak to me, I'll be in the library again." Integra descended the flight of stairs, and was soon out of sight. The draculina nodded once more, and turned in the direction of the kitchens, just in time to hear the hiss of a whispering voice, and a cold chill down the hall.

"...Pip..?"

_"Yeah, Mignonette?" _She felt him hum through her head, and heard something like a yawn aswell.

"...Am I the only hearing and feeling this...am I actually sensing something, or am I crazy?"

There was silence on Pips end for several minutes, as Seras listened for both him, and kept her ears open for the whispers echoes in the halls.

_"...Non...I 'ere eet too..."_

She clenched her fists and continued to the kitchen. She knew this feeling, it was impending disaster, and it was on its way to Hellsing.

**((Hey guys, guess what happens on the 20th this month? I leave for France. For a week. Yes. I'll probably get another chapter up before I leave, but if I don't, and you guys get no updates...thats why, I'll be in france. Dun worry, I'll keep my eyes pealed for red headed, eye patched, frenchmen. xP So, hows it going? You enjoy? I decided I wanted to have Heinkel and Integra develop something kinda like a friendship, well, at least as close a friendship those two could ever have. But they do have SOME scale of a nice relationship. ; Reviews? ))**


	8. Too Much Blood

_Authors note: Okay, this chapter has just a tiny bit of plot development, but its mostly just a switch in POV's for ya, enjoy._

_-----------_

_�_

_I felt now would be a good time to start a new journal. There are still at least 20 pages on my last, but why continue using it when I've entered a new stage of my life. So before I start with current events, I'll do my usual introduction._

_My name is Vladimir Layne. I started keeping a journal several years ago, but it was more of recommendation then a whim. I spent the majority of my life on the outskirts of london, first living with my family, then moving out, getting an apartment...then getting kicked out of said apartment and moving back in with my parents. Funny enough, they tolerated that._

_I admit, over three years I have grown to like writing, it's relaxing. Although I sometimes look down on my journals and wonder what people will think when they read them. Will any of it seem real to them, or fabricated? Also, I know I'm not the vision that comes to mind when someone reads this, especially considering how jittery I normally am..._

_But I haven't always been this way, and I'm alot better some days..._

He paused in his writing, reaching for the plate and fork infront of him and taking a bite of steak. One could notice, as he sliced into it, the tender meat had been repaired _very_ rare. After shoving the bit of meat into his mouth, he set the fork back down on the plate, and lifted his pen again.

_Somedays I can act relatively normal, my condition has actually improved alot. But that really wasn't the point. The point is... I really need to finish up this nonsense._

He stopped yet again, tapping the back of his pen violently against the table, then stopping scratching out the last sentences.

_I'm employed again, which is good, I suppose, since I really do need the money. I can actually see myself staying here for a very long time...eventually turning into Alfred, or something... and I don't just mean it like I'll be keeping the job, I'm honestly starting to grow concerned and wonder if I'll even leave this house again._

_I'm pretty sure Integral runs some sort of military operation, and maybe its just paranoia, but I think I might know too much, or something. Although I cannot figure out what it is that I could possibly know. Or maybe she's just enslaed me to pay off the debt for that nice dress I ruined..._

_Seras is nice enough, she seems sane at least, although a few of the things she's done have put me on edge...She walks out the door, I don't even hear any blood footsteps and, my god, she's gone. Sir Integral is also sane enough, I suppose, but she does put me on edge. She seems very familiar though, I'm positive I know those eyes. The problem is, on one hand, I don't know where I know her from, its all so faint... On the other hand, I do know..._

He set the pencil down, and rested his head in his hand, He seemed to be thinking of the right words, and he stayed in this state for several minutes before writing once more.

_I know I remember her when I was... there._

_Just the eyes, maybe her voice too, but mostly the eyes. Its really starting to scare me, I admit, since I know any delusions I had where not real, and that Sir Hellsing just has to be an odd coincidence... but her eyes..._

He bit his lip, letting his pen rest on the paper, ink spreading. Then the noise of the pen picked up once more, as it rolled over the paper.

_...They're just too similar. I recognize Seras aswell, just small traits. I know her from the back of my mind, but that section is locked off. I'm never going back there. Ever. Also, I'm really starting to wonder if..._

"Vlad, I'm back!" said Seras, as she flung open the door and stepped into the kitchen, he jumped, dropping his pen on the floor, then tossing his hands over the book, slamming it closed. "...Hi!" he yelped quickly, nearly falling out of the chair as her leaned over to grab his pen. Seras nodded, and looked around the room.

"Well, you actually did a pretty good..." She opened one of the cupboards, finding everything reorganized in a much better manner. "...job.."

"Yeah." he muttered, taking another bite of steak.

"...and...you cooked, I see." She added, glancing at the rather bloody steak on his plate.

"Yeah." He said again, with a small nod of the head as she continued to survey the room.

"Okay, well, Anyway, I suppose I should be..." She tensed up suddenly and looked around the room, she seemed to be listening for something. "...I'll be _right_ back." She gave a tiny smile, then left the room, this time not bothering to close the door.

He sat at the chair just looking into the hallway for a few more seconds, then pulled back out his book.

_Maybe Seras isn't quite as sane as she seems, but either way, I'm starting to feel like a hamster running circles in a cage, and they're all staring down at me. I planned to go out tomorrow, I suppose the moment of truth will come with whether they let me leave or they tie me up in the basement..._

He brushed his hair behind his back, and stood, picking the book up and carrying it protectively under his arm. He was just walking out the door and down the hall in the direction of his room when he bumped into one of the servents, a meek brunette by the name of Lily.

_Ah, another one of the many abnormal people to call this place home. I met Lily yesterday, she's alright, she seems a little paranoid though. The more I think about it, the more I devise insane theories and begin to wonder if she's been trapped here for years and years stuck in this sort of time lapse where she relives the same day again and again. Well sure, I don't actually believe that, but it's a good theory right? Who knows what's really going on here... Like I said before, Military. I'm sure if I'm here long enough I'll stumble over some sort of conspiracy... Or I can dream._

She let out a panicked shriek as she collided with him, and dropped the folded towels she'd been carrying onto the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She whimpered, bending over and grabbing them. Vladmir kneeled beside her, lifting several of the towels and handing them back to her. "Here, don't worry about it-"

"Thank you!" She said quickly, before he could even finish his sentence, giving a nod of the head and running down the hall, her wavy chestnut hair bouncing behind her. She never seemed to like being in the hallways for long periods of time, though she seemed relaxed enough in any of the rooms in the mansion.

_I wonder what she's always so freaked out over. Anyway, There was some conference today, or something. I know a few people are staying here. (Dare I say it...World Leaders, maybe?) So perhaps that's what all the rush is about. I feel strange that I haven't been involved in it, You'd think they'd need all the help they had. Anyway, I know I'm supposed to be cleaning up the library later... That in itself might be interesting. I noticed a heavy amount of horror novels, mostly vampires, last time I was there. Come to think of it, Sir Integral also asked questions regarding such things. Oh well, she's rich. So maybe she's eccentric, it goes hand in hand, doesn't it?_

Vlad tossed his door open and entered the bedroom, pulling open a drawer and setting his journal inside. 

_Maybe I should get a lock for this thing..._

He turned away for a moment, then seemed to have an idea, as her turned back around and pulled the drawer back open. He tossed a few other items in on top of the journal, in hopes it would go unnoticed if someone where to open it. He then slid it closed again, and made his way from the room and downstairs to the library. 

_"I might aswell start now..."_

----

"...Pip can sense it aswell?...Then what does it feel like? Another vampire?"

Seras' eye brow furrowed as she stared out the window at the setting sun, her concern unmistakable.

"I'm not sure, Sir... It does feel vaguely familiar..."

Integra nodded. "Does it feel like... Alucard?" she questioned, her eyes scanning the grain of the table below her.

Seras shook her head ever so slightly, almost laughing. "No, its definitely not coming from Vlad. Although I forgot to tell you, Sir. He has the seals. I doubt they still have any power over him, but they're there."

The older womans eyes widened. "Really?" She said, with genuine interest. "Now that I think about, he was wearing gloves the past few times I've seen him...anything else?"

Seras thought for a moment, coming a blank. Then she remembered something, a small detail, but nonetheless worth noting. "Well, he likes his food pretty rare..." she said, with small grin sneaking up the corner of her mouth. "I mean, red in the center and dripping kind of rare...It looked really good." she mused, licking her porcelain lips.

"...but other then that, he's not Master... He's not even Hellsing material, really." she added with a giggle, as she invisioned Vladimir frantically running away from a category C vampire in a rather cartoon like fashion.

"...You have information you've yet to tell me aswell, Sir Integra... May I know what you've discovered?" She added, crawling across the table, over the stacks of books, and up to Integra.

Sir Hellsing rolled her neck back for a moment, stretching her tired muscles, then took a drag of her cigar.

"With everything that's been happening, not very much, I'm afraid. Although here is something to note... I asked him several questions that could eventually lead to his past... Although he had a decent enough story for his life, whenever I was to ask something that required specific detail, he'd pause and ask me to repeat the question, he'd never give me straight answers. He claimed he had a migraine and was having trouble focusing, I do not doubt that was the truth, but it was brought on by something. I can only assume that something was lack of information." She lifted her glasses, rubbing her eyes. "He seems to genuinely believe he had a normal life before this..." She said solemnly. "...I'm starting to wish I could believe that."

Seras sighed, looking down at the shadows swirling in her left hand, then inched back off the table, and onto the couch. "...Integra...Don't you think its odd... First Vladmir, now someone with ties to Millennium, and with Heinkel and the rest arriving here today..."

Integra closed her eyes, as she exhaled, blowing smoke over the open books. "Yes, Seras, I have thought quite alot about that already." She stood, crossing to the door. "At the moment, my primary objective is to wipe out whoever it is causing this before they fill up this whole country with those goddamn monsters... As for Vlad... It does matter who he was, I think now we should..." she inhaled again, trying to wrap her mind around what she really thought, "...focus on who he has become."

Seras nodded in a somber way, just as the voice of Heinkel Wolfe echoed from outside the door, first a scream, though more startled then frightened, by far. Then they could both clearly hear her footsteps as she approached the door.

"Sir Integra? ...Ve seem to have a problem."

Integra's hand was already on the knob, but turned her vision skeptically over to Seras, telling her to be on guard. She then threw open the door and stepped out to find several of her men slaughtered in the hallway before her. The Hellsing crest on their uniforms where defaced, either torn off, or painted over in blood. No doubt deliberately.

"...Were they...?" Integra started, her gloved hand to her mouth as she inched around the bodies.

"Ja. I vas coming down to find you, und I discovered them." She said, pulled her gun from her coat. Integra kneeled before one of the bodies, a young woman, and rested her hand where the Hellsing emblem once rested. "...She was one of my field agents..." Integra said, with a grim tone as she gazed at the deep gashes across the victims neck. 

"..One of my best... She had been dispatched to Ireland several days ago..." She said, as she rose, turning her attention to the draculina.

Seras stepped out of the library, inching around the two leaders to kneel at the bodies, sniffing the blood.

"Its very recent..." she said, licking the drop of ruby liquid on her finger, her eyes precisely examined analyzed every detail, until they rested on the front pocket of the womans shirt. She leaned forward, carefully unbuttoning it, and pulling out a thin, rolled up, sheet of paper. She was about to unroll it herself, when she stopped and handed it to Sir Hellsing in respect. "She wasn't carrying it when she was alive." Seras said, and Integra opened the small scroll. She was just skimming over the first line, a grim expression spreading across her face, when a mans scream broke the deathly silence...

The three of them turned to face Vladimir, standing in the hall way with his hand over his mouth staring down at the corpses he'd nearly tripped over.

_...That's another thing... Ever since that day... God, I hate the sight of spilled blood._

**((What does Vlad do now? Does he A. Vomit, B. Run away, or C. faint? XD Find out, next time! So, I've been inspired. Not so much for fanfics, but for EVERYTHING. I just feel like creating, fanart, fiction, art, AMV's, ect. What caused it? A. Finally watching season 6 (and the first 8 episodes of season 7) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Dark Willow is AWESOME, and Spike in season 7... Poor crazy vampire. I feel so sorry for him...) The other thing that has e generall inspired it music...EVERYONE...Go listen to Slaying The Dreamer by Nightwish. Its amazing... Also, I plan to make a list of songs that have inspired my fiction in the past, I may make note of that sometime. Oh, and I've also had the song A Little Piece of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold on repeat. Its so...Danny Elfman and showtune-ish... Yup, ANYWAY guys, no updates till like...looong time(okay, until after the 30th or so)...'kay, I'll miss meh readers, hugs and kisses to ya! ))**


	9. Der Doktor

A queasy feeling spread over him. He could feel his legs shaking, then a strange haze fell over his vision as the room around him started to spin. After several seconds he opened his eyes, resting them on the bodies that where now even closer to him, then turned his vision upwards to Sir Integra. It took him several more seconds to realize that he was now on his knee's, which explained to him why Sir Hellsing had gotten so much taller in the past second. He urged himself to get up, but that weak sensation was still running through his legs, and it was increasingly obvious that standing back up was no option.

"...S-sir..." He just barely managed to choke out, before vomiting onto the floor. Earlier that day this would have been considered a shame, since that floor had just been cleaned. However, with the bloodstains on it now, Vladimirs mess was the least of anyones worries. Integra closed her eyes, as she bit her lip and tucked the note inside her front pocket. The storm was about to come, just a few more seconds.

In an instant Heinkel had her pistol to his head, holding it there with her finger on the trigger. Integra exhaled, composing herself. The first wave of the storm had come.

"...Vhat ist this?!" the Iscariot shouted at Integra, never taking the gun off of Vlad's forehead. At this point, things had just gone too far, and a sickly color was rising in the mans face as his eyes rushed between Seras, and the firearm against his head.

"Wolfe, I would recommend _not_ doing that." Integra stated, locking eyes with Heinkel. She scowled, tightening her grip on the gun, and turning her vision to Vlad for a moment, who was shaking profusely, her harsh eyes only making it worse.

"All I vant ist an answer, Sir Hellsing. Don't you think I vould have blown his head off by now if that vas not the case?"

Integra crossed her arms, a thin smile spreading up the corner of her mouth. She glanced at Seras for half a second, then back to Heinkel, stepping closer. "Ah... Is that it?" She said, pointing to Vladimir. "If he is really what you think, Wouldn't he acting different? I do believe if you where correct about this mans identity, he would be standing infront of you, laughing and waiting for the shot."

Heinkel tipped her head to the side in a mocking matter, then smiled. "Vell... Lets find out, then, shall ve?"

Two gunshots rang though the hall, reaching out over all the grounds of the estate. The sound at such a close range was piercing, and, for Vladimir, the entire room fell silent despite the movement and screaming that filled it. Vlad scampered away from Heinkel, before backing into a corner and closing his eyes tightly.

The pistol dropped to the floor, and Seras slammed Heinkel up against a wall. The vampiress' shoulder was still sizzling from the bullet she had blocked with her own body. The other bullet, the first one fired, had shot right past Vlad's face, barely grazing his cheek, after Seras pushed Heinkels hand away. The Iscariot had fired again, but that time the former police girl had phased inbetween Wolfe and Vladimir taking the bullet herself.

Her shoulder sizzled abit more before one bullet was expelled from her burnt skin, and hit the ground with a metallic clang. She smirked as her shadow hand wrapped itself around the leaders neck.

"Keep your hands off him." She said in a threatening tone, despite her gleeful air. It was ever so obvious, at these moments, just who's fledgling she once was. "...Do I have to ask twice...Catholic?" She hissed, tipping her head to the side, like an animal examining its prey.

"No," responded Heinkel in the calmest tone, Seras tightened her grip. "...It ist not necessary for you to ask even once... Demon."

Just as Seras started to loosen her grip, the woman rolled out of her hands, and drew another gun from her coat, firing several shots towards the vampire. She dodged two, but one severed her left arm, bursting the form of shadows, and causing blood to drip profusely onto the already filthy floor.

"Bitch!" Seras chocked out, then phased through the wall. Heinkel stopped, tensing up for a moment, her grip on the gun tightening, then reached down and picked her other pistol up off the floor. She scanned the room, until suddenly Seras burst up through the floor behind her, with great speed. In one swift motion Seras sliced through the womans back with her bare fingernails, though never executing any attack strong enough to _severely_ wound the human. Heinkel spun around looking up, just as Seras reached the ceiling, clinging to it for a moment, as her eyes locked with the Iscariots. She pushed off with great force, heading straight towards the woman, and in those few drawn out seconds one could see the shadowy form of the mercenary captain who fought beside her, charging into battle. She let out a long cry as she landed on Heinkel, pushed her to ground. Within seconds of pinning her, she drew her own gun out of the shadows, a much larger one, pushing it up against the womans head.

"Checkmate." whispered the vampire, as her teeth sparkled in the light.

"...Not quite."

Before Seras could even grasp what the woman had said, she heard another shot and blood splattered onto the wall behind her. She rolled off of the woman, dropping her gun and clutching at her stomach, now realizing that she had pinned Heinkel in such a way that the catholics pistol had been pushed right against her own body. She groaned, but more in humiliation of her own mistake then in pain.

"Just ...be lucky...you're our guest." She muttered, pulling herself up, and grasping at the hole in her stomach. Heinkel raised her own gun once more, but Integra stepped forward from the shadows, her arms still crossed, and her mood as solemn as ever.

"That will be quite enough of that, thank you, ladies." She said sternly, surveying the broken glass, bullets, and splattered blood.

The pistol Seras had dropped on the floor reflected what little light shone in the hall, shining silver and standing out against the shades of red that stained the flooring. The text '_Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto_' was etched down the side of it, a ghostly reminder of years past. Just as Seras had fully reformed her left hand, she kneeled and picked it up, letting it melt into the shadows that made up her arm. She moved her right hand from her stomach, revealing nothing more then a small hole in her shirt and some blood stains, the wound itself had healed leaving no trace.

Integra turned away from them sharply, stepping towards the man now huddled in the far corner. She grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to his feet, then turned back to face Seras again. "Get the soldiers ready, we're running a full sweep of london tonight... Heinkel? I suggest you bring in all Iscariot has to offer, it appears we're in deeper then we though."

Seras nodded in response, then ran out of the room towards the barracks. Heinkel slipped both pistols into the holsters under her coat, but didn't budge.

"I van't an answer, Sir Hellsing." She said firmly, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lighting up.

Integra said nothing, then looked over at Vlad, who was shaking like a leaf, at a complete loss for words, and hiding behind her as best he could. Things could have been worse though, she was positive he didn't actually see the fight that just broke out between Seras and Heinkel, so he still hadn't seen much of Hellsing's paranormal side...

"I can only tell you as much as I know, and my own knowledge is scarce." She finally replied, tightening her grip on his forearm. "This is for another time, Wolfe."

With that, she led him from the room. She would leave others to deal with the destruction that just took place outside the library. Now was a far more important time, the message resting in her pocket was heavy, and Vladimirs mental state was less then at ease...

--

Just five hours left till the next patrol. Seras unbuttoned her torn and stained vest, dropping it on the floor. She then rested the Casull on her dresser, taking a moment to clean it off.

"I would have used you...I just wasn't allowed the chance." She sighed, and picked it back up, now walking over to her chest and opening it. She shuffled through her belongings till she reached the bottom, then she opened the hidden compartment, laying the weapon to rest once more inside. She gently ran her hand over the firearm before closing the compartment. She yawned and stretched, about to fall into her coffin for a quick nap, when something caught her eye near the door. She had rigged a mail system several years ago, so that there was a mail slot leading from the higher floors of the mansion down to her own room in the cellar. Needless to say, it was rarely used, as there was no one left to write to her. What caught her eye at this moment was an off white, and somewhat tea stained, envelope laying near the mail slot. She stood up, and approached the paper, picking it up and sniffing it. _She knew that smell. _She could not place who's scent it was, but she remembered it as a friend, and she turned the envelope over, reading the text.

Miss Seras Victoria,

The Hellsing Organization

_Of the upmost urgency_

She looked in the top corner for some sort of return address, or a name, but it was unmarked. Oh well. That was typical. She picked her pocket knife up off the table and sliced into it, pulling out a dated piece of parchment, written on it in a flowing cursive text, the ink running in a few places.

_My dear Seras,_

_So long it has been, are you well? I assume you are aware in the changes in the balance? Yes, an old nemesis of your agency has returned, an enemy that can bring Britain nothing but pain. I am sorry I could not have contacted you sooner, but it is best that I explain now before I continue this message. I left london several days before Millennium struck, and I stayed out of this country for many years to follow. I have lived a long life, Seras, and it does pain me that I was not there to parish that day. However, I realize it must have been fate that I was called away that night. Had I died then I am sure I would be missed in the future. _

_I could feel you in the past months, Seras, your energy is strong even overseas... You are his childe, dear. Be proud of that much. Know that his blood has given you life, and that your love blood has restored it. This gave you a power others could only dream of. I trust that by the time you receive this, they will have made their first move. Do not fear them, for they are nothing to a creature of your strength, they are frauds, led only by one true nosferatu. I shall arrive in several days, invited or not, and I do hope to receive your hospitality. You shall not stand alone, childe, for we shall aide you. I will tell you all I know, but now is not the time for it._

_As a final note, I would much desire to speak to the _**other one**_ I feel... There is another power at Hellsing, he is different then you, yet he is very much the same. I believe you know the boy I refer to._

_My blessings to you, childe._

_Helena_

Seras held her hand to her mouth, the letter falling out of her hand an on to the table.

"He-helena...?"

_--_

A clock ticked steadily as smoke wafted through a dimly lit room. A woman dressed in thin black lace with a cigarette in hand rested on a settee, her shapely body silhouetted by the moonlight shining through the window. Her auburn hair fell down passed her shoulders in delicate waves. Tick. Tick. Tick.

She took another drag before snuffing out the cigarette and standing, wrapping a thin silk shawl around her scantly clad body, and walking across the room. She opened a door and stepped through into a small bathroom, letting her clothing fall to the floor and stepping into a large claw foot bath before her. She let out a relaxed sigh as she slipped into the water.

Dark water...

_Thick_ water...

She cupped her hands, scooping up the liquid and pouring it onto her face, letting out a low laugh as it splashed over her. She sunk back into the tub submerging most of her body, but stretching her slender legs for a moment. The clock chimed and she hummed to its short tune. A few minutes later he door creaked open once more, and a tall slim man dressed in white stepped in. The woman laughed again, turning over to face him, and stretching out her hand towards him.

"Come in... Its fine..." She whispered, in a sickly seductive tone, using her other hand to stir up the water. The man laughed, but turned rather then approach her, he turned on the faucet and took off his gloves, washing his face in the sink. When he was done, he reached for the nearest towel, patting his face dry, aswell as any water that had dampened his blond hair. Despite this, however, he was still filthy and reeked of blood...

As did something else. The clouds parted outside, and moonlight spilled in over the bathroom. Blood filled the clawfoot tub, and dripped off of the womans body. Her eyes also reflected a deep crimson in the moonlight. The man turned and faced her, pulling a pair of rather complex glasses out of his coat pocket and putting them on.

"...Und how much time do you plan to vaste in there?" He inquired, watching the blood drip off her hand onto the tile floor. She pulled back, almost pouting, then relaxed and sunk back into the blood once more.

"However long I wish... Dok..." She purred, before splashing her feet in the blood, like a young child pretending to be a mermaid...

**((Yushhh...Update, at last. Gaah. France was great, SakuraCon was great too... Guess what guys, I think I'm turning into Kouta Hirano! First I take forever to update... then I write a chapter that was nothing but a fight scene and some filler...What next, will I gain a bunch of weight and start writing rape porn? -pauses and glances at pile of AlucardxAbraham fics in corner- Oh wait...I already write rape porn...riiight...Oh crap, I've caught Hirano-itus!! Dx Anyway, what did you think of the latest chapter? I'm super sorry if there are some errors here...I'm so tired. Dx (oh, and who's seen the Hellsing pitch? You know, that little teaser trailer-esque thing? Pretty neato, eh? I'll be keeping an eye on Imagenfilms, thats for sure.))**


	10. Things You Cannot Explain

Integra gripped Vladimirs arm, dragging him down the hallway and finally stopping infront of her office. She pushed the doors open, and drug him into the room, almost knocking him into the chair infront of her desk, before she herself sat down behind it. The look on his face was pitiful, he was still shaking, and his skin had turned a ghastly white.

Integra lit her cigar, resting her hands on the desk and looking down at his slouching form.

"How much did you see?"

He sobbed, then let his head fall into his hands, running his fingers through his hair, almost ready to tear it out.

"I...I didn't...I'll forget whatever I saw...t-today didn't...happen...really..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"No, no...Not them. Not my soldiers, although I am terribly sorry, you should not have witnessed such a thing so soon in your time he-"

He stood suddenly, slamming his hand down on the table. "What?! So what, does this just happen here all the time, who are you?!"

He was furious and terrified at the same time, and several tears dropped onto Integra's papers. She stood, and circled around the desk to stand beside him.

"Stand down Vladimir Layne, you have no right to address me in this matter." She stated firmly, her face as impassive as before. His fists where still clenched, but after a few minutes of silence between them, he slowly relaxed them at his side.

"...That woman...what did she say, I...I don't... Who did she think I was? Who did she want dead...I don't...I..."

"Her name is Heinkel Wolfe," she began. "All else I could tell you about her strictly confidential, as are her motives behind that threat." She opened one of the drawers in her desk, sorting through it before finding a few medical supplies, and wiping the blood off his cheek. She brushed some of his hair away from his face.

"Although I will say, the resemblance is uncanny..." She added, with a small, solemn, smile.

"I didn't think I was getting myself into... this much..." he murmured, still trying to keep himself calm and fight back the instinct to vomit all over Sir Integra's best suit. "...I...I guessed you where involved in some military operation...but, not this...Is there anything you _can_ tell me...?"

Integra bandaged the cut across his face, then stated "No." After a few seconds she made eye contact with him again. "You would not say a word of this to anyone, you're not the type. Nor would any story you tell be taken seriously, however, I cannot risk it... not for Hellsing's sake, but for _yours_..."

She took a drag of her cigar, walked back behind the desk and opened the window shades. "Beautiful sunset, isn't it?" She said, turning back around.

He nodded, though he never looked out the window, and took a few steps closer to her.

"Why am I here...Just tell me that at least..."

"Fine, I will. You're here because I ask it of you, and for... monitoring aswell."

He raised an eye brow "Does that have... anything to do with the gun I had to my head a few minutes ago...?" he said, swallowing.

"Yes. It does."

He looked down at the floor for a moment, scanning over the tiles, then finally raised his eyes to her again.

"So... what," he started "...Is it like...do you think I can't handle the truth?"

Integra had been cleaning her glasses when he said this, and she set the cloth back down on the table, laughing. She then put the glasses back up to her eyes. She smirked this whole time, then finally stated "In my honest opinion, I would be shocked if you could handle _anything_."

He let out a low defeated sigh in response.

"So, am I supposed to just...go along with this...?"

She nodded. "Yes. You are." her tone suddenly reminding Vlad just why he had been so afraid of her. He nodded, returning to his usually jittery state.

"Then...Yes Sir..." he was about to back quietly out of the room and attempt to leave the country when she grabbed his arm once more. "But really, no matter how insane you must think I am, may I ask you this..." she said, drawing closer to him.

"...Have you ever seen things you couldn't explain... perhaps memories of events that you know never happened...?"

"Well, I..."

"...What about the doctors, Vladimir."

He froze, staring into her eyes the entire time, his hand reaching for the door.

"...have you ever thought that they where wrong, and you where sane...?"

"How...how do you know about...that..?" He stuttered.

"I ran a background check on you, of course I found out those smaller details. I have to tell you, yes, you where probablu quite mad, but the doctors... they where wrong, Vladimir."

He shook his head, on the verge of another breakdown, then rushed out of the office and back to his own guest room, locking the doors and windows before scribbling away in away the latest incident in his journal on the small hope someone would read it and call a higher authority on this madhouse...

--

It was 6:45 in the evening as Hellsings men marched out of five heavily armored vehicles, forming several lines infront of the cities borders. Seras stepped out of a sixth vehicle, a private car, The Harkonen slung over her shoulder. She marched past all the soldiers to stand infront of them.

"Now then," she started "I want this to be fast and clean. First off, guns at the ready, if it moves, _shoot it. _At the moment I care very little for innocent human lives, their welfare is not our responsibility. It is their own. If any accidents occur it is not your fault some juvenile delinquents thought it would be fun to snoop around ground zero. They should not be here to begin with. Second, as stated before, keep it clean. We want to bring back evidence, perhaps remains, I won't stand for you blokes messing that up. No matter what units you where transferred from, and no matter what country you call home, you are now under Hellsing's command. Do not shame our organization..."

She pulled the Harkonen down and into her gloved hands, then added "In the name of God, all impure souls of living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen... Now, move out!"

With that, she ran off ahead of them, into the pitch black.

Half the trucks moved out at this time, while another car pulled in. Like the one Seras had stepped out of, it was of a higher class. The door opened slowly as Sir Integra stepped out into the cool night air. There was silence here, but not the serene kind. It was the silence of death and destruction, the aftermath. The only thing remaining. Her sword was at her side, but she had her doubt she'd use it. They where smart, they would not be found tonight... They would make themselves known, the first wave of their plan was in effect. She knew she had to be here tonight, somehow she knew, however it was hard pulling herself away from home. She could only hope Vlad would be fine when she got back, she knew she had to tell him the full truth... However, she also knew he was absolutely terrified and intimidated by her, and that getting close to him was virtually impossible. She sighed, and drew her sword, following several of her soldiers.

--

The silence was broken a few blocks away as Seras trampled over the broken pavement and the plants that had reclaimed the city. It had been one hour since they all set out, nothing. A good thirty or so buildings had been raided by Hellsing soldiers, they where of course far from done, but still...

She had been hoping for some evidence, after what happened earlier today they must have-

Her train of thought was broken by a low moan, and footsteps behind her, she turned on instinct lunging forward and tearing the ghouls head off with a single swing of her hand. She scanned the square, looking over the broken city and pin-pointing seven more. She killed each one just as quick, spinning through a sea of blood, then stopped to examine the corpses... All but one of them where fresh, the other one, however was in a much shabbier state. She looked over its ragged remains with a grave expression. Although a ghoul would continue to rot, it would do so alot slower then an ordinary dead body... This one in particular was practically falling apart before she killed it, and from what she could tell it had been wandering this area for several years now, somehow they'd missed it on previous raids... She bit her lip and continued on, at least the new ghouls where a sign, if not a sad one. Their enemies where set-up somewhere in London. She quickened her pace, but stopped suddenly as a strange sensation fell over her. Her knee's shook for a moment, and the cityscape was starting to spin... she recognized these surroundings, though in this new haze she couldn't pinpoint it. Strong darkness, its power choking her. She felt herself falling, and in this rush she saw the glowing red text that was so familiar. In that instant she regained herself, and looked down at the ground, her eyes meeting a scorched pentagram in the pavement, though she could see an essence radiating from it. She rubbed her head, setting down her cannon, and taking a moment to stare at the mark.

"So what, Have I been called here or something?" She said with a sigh. "'cause I think its getting old..."

She yawned, unintentionally baring her small fangs. "I mean, first Vladimir, then a revived Millennium, then Helena, and now..."

She spent a few more seconds staring at the Hellsing seal before giving up. She rolled her eyes, lifting the Harkonen back up off the ground. "oh well," she mumbled under her breath "What was I expecting, A bloody guiding light to shine up from hell...?"

She was about to head down an ally when the cities silence was broken yet again, this time by a womans voice radiating through the shadows. "Good afternoon, Miss Victoria, pleasant evening?"

Seras spun around, firing into the air. The shell flew through, exploding and piercing alot more then the womans heart, blood and viscera flying behind her now mangled form. The smoke cleared and the woman stood beside Seras, all traces of the fatal wound gone. She was clothed in a laced red gown. Her auburn hair was pulled up and a few ringlets fell down behind her.

"Well, no need to be so hostile." She whipered, circling the draculina. She was another vampire, and Seras could already tell she was one of the older ones, she had an essence she had only twice before in her life.

"Oh really?" she responded, keeping a distance from the other vampire, neither letting their guard down. The woman laughed, her long fangs extended and sparkling in the moonlight.

"So you really are her? I have heard of you often, Miss Victoria. They say you really are the next big thing..." she said with a very regal air, examining the girl from head to toe, stopping around the bust for a moment to smirk. "Well..." she continued "...You really do not seem like that much to me..." Seras rolled her eyes.

"Oh, would you just shut up!" she shouted, pulling the Harkonen up to the vampires head and firing, blasting the womans head off...but only a second later another bout of laughter escaped her mouth, as bats and mist encircled the city. Seras' eyes widened as a sick tearing sound echoed through the air... and she looked down to see the woman's slender hand tearing right through her chest.

--

Vladimirs pen rolled over the paper, he was a good seven pages into his new autobiography, for fear he'd never leave this house alive, when his eyes widened and the pen fell from his hand. It hit the table, rolling a short distance before ink began to leak out onto the stack of note-paper beside him.

"..S-seras?"

**((...Woah...I'm so sorry guys. I know I promised normal chapter time again, but that didn't happen, eh? Well, here's the deal. I had to write something for my lit. class, something fictional, so all my writing time when into working on that...So...a new chapter, no questions answered, and more brought up...I'm as bad as the people who write the TV show 'Lost' aren't I? XD ))**


	11. Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

Seras groaned, opening her eyes and surveying her surroundings. Everything was so quiet again, but this time she could hear the wind blowing between the buildings in a low howl. Lying on her back in the middle of the street, she thought for a moment, trying to recall what had just transpired. After several seconds her dead heart skipped a beat. She looked down, but only to see her black vest clean, and un-torn. She ran her hand over her chest. Nothing.

_"What...just happened..."_

She pulled herself to her feat, and made her way over to where she had dropped The Harkonen, however, it was gone. Immediately her hands went to her belt, groping her her other pistol, only to find that it too had simply vanished. She stood, rubbing her head and trying to place what was so wrong with the surrounding picture, then it struck her like a ton of bricks. This side of the city was in ruin, it would be years until they even tried to reconstruct... Yet everything was standing... There was no blood, no sign of war or even the smallest struggle. Infact, the stately building directly behind her looked as if it had only been completed the day prior. She looked over the skyline, laying eyes on Big Ben.

"...No..." she murmured, turning around several times "..what the hell could-"

"Seraaas?" An all too familiar voice broke the silence and she spun around to face a most peculiar man floating before her, his eyes burning into her very soul in a most unnatural way. "...I am the spirit of your gun, Seras...I am the great-"

"Well...at least I know this isn't entirely real." She muttered, cutting him off. The middle-aged 'spirit' was highly taken aback by this, but decided it would be safest not to follow her, as she made her way to the edge of the city. It was getting darker now, dingier, and slowly things where starting to shift back into the realms of reality... She could see the wreckage surround her, although it was almost as if someone had overlapped a photograph of present day London, with one of London a good seven years ago. She bit her lip, taking a moment to decide what to do next, when something caught her eye. As she walked towards it, a tapping started up inside her head, and her could feel a warm familiar voice calling her.

_"'ey, Seras... Seras, come on...Zis isn't ze the time..."_

Yet for some strange reason she chose to ignore Pip's voice, as she approached the marble memorial over looking the old capital. It was still hazy, but it too was abandon.

_"Seras..."_

She ran up to the marble wall, examining the writing etched into the stone, and staring down at a single rose left at the foot of it. Despite all the other arrangements, cards, and figures set at the base, the rose seemed to stand out. It was as she was lifting the flower that she realized a shadow was looming over her, one that she knew was not there before. She dropped the rose, walking back around the memorial to see that london was gone, and in it's place was a vast field, stretching for miles with only one thing blocking the moons gentle rays... Towering before her was an immense building and, judging by the sign, mental institution. The name itself, however, was blurred to her perfect vampiric vision. In almost a trance she stepped towards the building, resting her hand on the first door and pushing it open. Following that was another door, this one locked, a key pad next to it on the wall. She glanced at it for a moment, then back at the door, shrugging and kicking it in with her right foot. Although it was most likely strongly enforced, she was a vampire, and this was, afterall, a dream. Stepping inside she surveyed the main room, plain, sanitary. Depressing. Then things began to spin, and as dreams tend to do, the room changed. She now found her self in a long hallway, on the left side there where doors every few meters, and on the right where windows looking out into a garden area. She glanced out the window closest to her to see that somehow the sun was up, shining down on the plants and benches. She took a moment to decide what path to take, then made her way up the northern hall, which seemed to only grow longer as she walked down it. Finally, she stopped at the last door and rested her hand on the rusted knob.

_"...Seras, Mignonette...wake up, please..."_

Her eyes narrowed, and the door flew open revealing London one more...This time, burning, agonized screams echoing... It could only be a few hours after it all started... and then there was laughing... Deranged sick laughing that took joy in the slaughter, she knew that laughing all too well.

_"...Seras! COME ON, SNAP OUT OF IT!"_

Her eyes shot open, a searing pain in her chest, as she came to face the woman once again. The vampires hand was still in her chest, and she could only assume she wasn't even out for more then a second... but now was not the time to think. She grabbed the womans arm, pulling herself away and regenerating the hole through her heart and lung.

The woman laughed, licking the draculina's blood from her fingers in a sickly provocative matter. Seras screamed as she drew the Casull from nowhere, shoving its barrel into the elegant womans mouth, and firing twice. Her laughter merely continued, although it was slowly fading.

"...well...maybe you _are_ worth it...too bad you fell for that... distraction..." she whispered, disappearing into the night.

Seras stood, still gasping for unneeded breath. "...that...distraction...?" she questioned, staring up at the moon. She had a grave feeling she knew just what she had meant, for something felt horribly familiar. She pressed her finger down on the 'speak' button on her radio.

"Integra... I think we have to get back to headquarters...fast."

--

Vladimir remained in his seat, his eyes staring blankly at the paper before him, as the ink from the pen continued to run.

"...s-seras...?" he bit his lip, then pushed his chair back and stood, his expression still a little dazed. Just then, a crash came from one of the lower floors, the sound of glass breaking, followed by a scream. While one side of his head told him it would be best to hide in the closet, the other half drove him to investigate. He rested his hand on the door knob, throwing it open in time to hear the sound of more windows breaking on the floor beneath him. The next thing her heard where rushed footsteps as Lily came running down the hall. She stopped infront of him, somewhat startled to see another person here at this time, then dove into the his room, closing the door behind her.

"...Lily?!... What's going on, what are you-"

Completely ignoring his stuttering voice, she pushed past him, grabbing his chair and ramming it under the door knob.

"...Ohh...there is no chance that can hold..." she whimpered, running to the window and opening it, leaning out and looking at how far down it was. She sighed again, leaning against the wall and sliding down it to the floor. Her hands where now to her face, and tears where beginning to drip onto the carpet.

He walked slowly over to her, jumping slightly when he heard another scream, this one just down the hall, followed by crunching and tearing. "L-lily...?" he whispered, kneeling beside her.

"...we're...we're going to die..." she sobbed, just under her breath as another slam came from the room just beside them. Vlad swallowed, and stood putting his ear to the door and listening as heavy footsteps left the other bedroom and came down the hallway. He lowered himself to the floor, peering out from the small gap between the flooring and the door. All he could see where shadows, but that was good enough. The footsteps drew closer, until he could feel them, and as he saw the shadow move infront of him, they stopped. He held his breath, terrified and praying that Lily could keep quite aswell. Finally, after thirty seconds of eternity, the being moved on down the hall, but not without dropping something. Whatever it had been holding landed with a heavy thump next to the door, and before long blood began to ooze into the room. Vlad jumped back from the door, his hand at his mouth, joining Lily on the far side of the room.

"Okay..." he started, speaking as quietly as he could manage "...What..what the hell was that...?"

She shook her head violently, her eyes closed. "I...I...They...I've never seen them so close before...it..." but she was unable to continue. She sobbed again, wrapping her hands around her knees and letting her head fall into her dress and apron.

Vladimir closed his eyes, trying to think. Finally he stood, crossing over to the door and pulling the chair out from under the knob. He pushed the door open just a little bit, looking down both ways to see that the coast was clear. There was nothing in sight, but he could still hear whatever hell was being raised down stairs. He took a step out into the hall tripping over something, instinctually he looked down to see what it was, something he immediately regretted. At his feet was the head of one of the other maids he had met the day before, her blank eyes staring up at him. He looked directly across the hall, and, to some form of relief, noticed a decorative vase that he took no time to vomit into.

_"..the third time today...I need water..."_

He wiped off his face, then turned back towards to room, taking care not to look at the floor.

"Lily...umm...just stay inside...lock the door, barricade it...I don't know..." he then made his way down the hall, towards the kitchen. He walked with as much speed as he could without alerting whatever...things... had broken in, then turned the handle to the kitchen door very slowly, stepping inside.

_"...okay...something...something...think..." _

He grabbed several knifes from the counter. _"Damnit...this kitchens big enough, you'd think they'd have more sharp things..."_

He took a moment to breath, biting his finger and looking around the room. He had somewhat of a plan when he started, but it had all but disintegrated in the time it took him to get there. He stared at the knife in his hand.

_"...If I have to...I can do it...I know I can...I wonder if I can find where they keep some of their guns around here...no...no time, I can't shoot anyway...I just..."_

His thoughts where interrupted when several gun shots rang through the room, flying just passed his head. The door had been pushed down, and standing in its place was a rather large built man with an even larger gun in his hands. Blood dripped from his mouth and he smiled, revealing some unnaturally large teeth.

"Vell, vell...Hey, over here! Ve missed one!" he shouted enthusiastically, as several more soldiers swarmed in behind him. Vladimir ducked under the counter avoiding another shower of bullets, but the vampire took his time, walking slowly around the kitchen to where Vlad had taken cover.

"Ah, don't be so skittish, ve just vant to play..." he snickered, making his way around the counter. Vlad's heart rate was increasing, and the vampiric soldier could no doubt feel it, and sense the blood rushing faster and faster through his veins. He gripped the knife in his hand, tipping it at an angle so that he could see his attacker reflected in it.

_"...one thing at a time...I can do this...I can-"_

A terrible scream echoed through the mansion, as the blood began to flow down between the kitchen tiles...

--

Sir Integra's car was already half a mile to the mansion when Seras phased through, landing roughly in the back seat, and leaning in upfront.

Integra turned her head to face the girl, as she sat cross legged in the front passenger seat.

"Half our men left before us, they should be there by now." she said, concealing her concern with the calmest expressions.

"I don't get it, what could she want, there's no use weakening our defenses back home, all our best soldiers where on patrol!"

Integra's eyes narrowed, her hand bushing one loose strand of hair from her face.

"...No...We left him alone." she remarked, gravely. Seras' eyes widened, and she let herself sink back into her seat.

"...That's...that's what she wanted...?" the girl murmured, her own fears growing with each minute. It seemed like it would be an eternity until they could arrive.

"..I'm...I'm going ahead." she said, clicking the car door open. Integra didn't look back at her, but Seras could sense from her tone she had one last thing on her mind.

"...what is it...?" Seras asked... closing the door, but remaining where she was.

"The woman..." Integra started, "You said she was far above any category A...correct?"

Seras nodded, biting her lip, then responding. "...She couldn't have been that much younger then my master...She had to have been...four hundred, at least...There was...something in her blood too...I could feel it..."

"Yes...Be on your way, Seras. We may be running short on time." Integra faced the driver as Seras left the vehicle.

"...Hurry up, damnit!" she added, lighting the cigar in her mouth.

--

Seras burst open the main door, storming the entry hall and killing one of the vampires that had been standing guard at the height of the stairway. The kill took less then a minute, and she tossed the body aside, letting it fall roughly down the elegant staircase.

The second floor alone took her long enough to clear. Although the first vampire was weak, the rest where obviously a higher grade, putting up much stronger a fight then she had experienced in awhile. The casull was her answer to this, though, and she emptied the bullets into every freak that stood in her way.

She took a moment, to reload, and turned around several times to examine her surroundings.

_"..They're everywhere...bloody hell, how many did they send..."_

Gunfire echoed from the other side of the mansion, somewhere around the barracks.

_"...Well...I hope the boys we left home are holding up alright..."_

She moved on to the third floor, stepping into a hallway just as another one of those inhuman creatures ran down it, in a very frantic state. Glancing to her right, and seeing an open door, she swiftly stepped inside, out of the vampires way. Just as it passed by the door, she leaned out shooting it once in the head as it tried to get by. She stepped out of the room, looking down at its limp body.

_"...huh...What the bloody hell was he running from...?"_

She nudged the body with her foot, then moved on down the hallway, her curiosity and concern growing with every moment. The carnage itself was getting worse, as she eventually came to a head lying in the hallway. She cringed, rolling it over with her foot to see the face. Anna Verity, she was one of the four maids there, a friend of Lily's if she remembered correctly. Seras closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, looking at the door next to her, where the head was lying.

_"...wait...this is Vladimirs room..."_

In her rush to kill the intruders, she was unaware that she had already reached the door. She turned the knob slowly, but immediately felt the lock keeping the knob in place.

"Vlad?"

She had barely uttered his name, before she kicked the door down, surveying the room in roughly two seconds, her senses buzzing. She rushed towards Lily, who was now sitting next to the closet door, sobbing.

"Lily, where is he?" she asked in a demanding tone, although the girls fear for Seras only made matters worse. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the draculina, inching away from her until she backed into the dresser, and was corned.

Seras kneeled beside her. "...look...you'll be fine now...just..where is Vladimir?" she questioned, watching the human girl intently. Lily took several minutes, but finally raised her shivering hand, pointing out the door.

"...He... he went down the hall...that way..." she murmured, in a barely audible tone, as she turned her hand to the left.

Seras stood. "Thank you..." she said, calmly. "...Well...due to the lack of door..." she rubbed the back of her neck for a moment...

"...well...you can go in the closet for now, maybe..." she said, awkwardly, as she stepped out of the room.

_"...damn it Lily..."_

She made her way down the hall, she would have had the poor survivor stay with her, but she knew there was little chance of Lily following. She could only hope that there was nobody left on this floor that would prey on a whining maid. She passed several more rooms, most of which where thrown open and disorganized, blood all over and little sign of survivors. She continued, turning a corner and heading in the direction of the kitchen. A jolt went through her, when she heard a gasp of breath. The sound was unnoticed to any human ears, but already from that distance she could hear it coming from the kitchen. She picked up her pace, running towards the kitchen, its door hanging ajar and blood flowing slowly out into the hallway.

"...Vlad?" she murmured, fearing for the worse as she stepped into the large room, however, the sight before her was much more dramatic then she had expected. The room was painted red, with a display of carnage she had not witnessed in years, a display that had only been equaled once in her terrible memories. She could not say how many of the freaks where lying dead, for they where so mauled, but from a literal head count, she figured at least three.

They where torn to pieces, from what she could tell they had been sliced through, and the room was filled with viscera and the like. She stepped carefully around the parts, seeing a knife on the floor near the counter. She kneeled down, not lifting it, but staring at the blood splattered over the object.

_"...no way anyone could have done that with just this...no way..."_

She stared at her reflection that was just barely visible in the small areas where the blood wasn't covering it, and the sounds of the outside world began to fade. The gunfire from the barracks, the footsteps, Sir Integra's car pulling into the drive way, and her door opening as she stepped out and rushed inside. All the draculina could hear where her own thoughts of disbelief, her rushed heartbeat, and her own breathing...

That was when it hit her, much slower then it should have.

She had no pulse, no need to take a breath, nothing. She went tense, and ever so slowly raised her eyes from the deadly object to stare over at Vladimir Layne, as he huddled in the corner of the room, sobbing, his hands coated thickly in blood.

**((Wow. Just...Wow... It took me awhile to start writing this chapter, then alot more thinking after MindAsylums comments... This fic is just...well, I have a long road of writing ahead of myself. Anyway, I'd just like to say, thank you guys, for reading, and I'd like to thank MindAsylum... for reading in advance. Its good to have a beta now, and have a little help on this one. I would have ran it by him again before posting it, but... I figured you guys might have been getting impatiant with my updates, sooooo... yeah... What did you think? ...Anyway, now I'd better get going on the next chapter... XD))**


	12. Breakdown

_I don't know really, I almost felt something there, something different... but I know one thing... That wasn't Vlad... that wasn't human. It was... something else._

_--_

Seras sat quietly on the steps that led to the barracks, looking out over the shooting range. She stared solemnly down at the blood in her glass as the images of two nights prior replayed over and over in her head. The attack had been decently organized, with at least thirty of the artificial vampires. These creatures in particular seemed a poor example of that doctors work, whoever was making them now had to have had far less experience, or perhaps they where just rushed.

One thing was for certain, they had grown in numbers, Only a dozen or so medians had been tracked through Ireland and England, and they could not have sent all their agents on one mission to Hellsing Headquarters, it was idiotic. No, the vampires that stormed the mansion where nothing more then pawns.

All in all there where six casualties, each death on a very brutal scale. The soldiers held up alright. Although they had been taken by surprise, they where already so close to their own supply of arms that it was simply a matter of taking things down off the wall and firing them. The Iscariots _would_ have had their hands full, had they obeyed the conditions of their stay, but considering Heinkel had brought with her a much larger number of concealed weapons then recommended, the scales where tipped to their side. It was undeniable that this left the catholics feeling very vindicated about Hellsing, and their mode of operation.

Seras raised her head, gazing out over the field of targets as snow began to fall silently to the damp ground. Such a strange winter they had seen... But really, no stranger then every winter in the past. A delicate snow flake wafted towards her, landing on her hand and standing out against her black gloves until it finally melted away. How surreal it always seemed, when the elements where chilled, yet the body stayed the same. She wasn't sure she could ever get used to that, no matter how many years she lived.

She gazed at her reflection in the blood, then took a long drink, savoring the sweet taste and letting it pour into every fiber in her being.

Lily was still recovering from the shocking ordeal, but she seemed a little bit calmer around Seras. Apparently this run in showed her that if vampires where to attack Hellsing, Seras would, infact, _not _ join them in a horrible display of carnage. It was sad, almost, that Seras could no longer strike fear into her heart just by glancing at her, but at least that would wear off eventually...

She knew one thing would not be changing anytime soon.

To say Vladimir hadn't been quite the same since the attack was an understatement to a very high degree.

Seras took another drink, staring off into the distance and ignoring all else around her.

_...Was that enough to cause some sort of PTSD? ...Or did that just reawaken a fear and madness that already lived in him, is this what's been underneath that whole time? ...If he is Master, he can't possibly know it, but more important... is he even human? I can't feel another vampire, let alone one of Alucards strength, but..._

Images flashed through her head of the three or so vampires it _appeared_ he had slain... She couldn't help think of that.. they where so mutilated that it was as if someone had chopped off their heads and limbs, then tossed the body through a woodchipper...

She cringed.

It was sickening, but nothing new... she remembered that much blood before. Nothing that Millennium did could ever equal the pure carnage of the No Life King, she knew him too well. For her master it was an art. A sick, bloody, art that he strived to teach her.

_...No human could do that with _just _a knife...and not in that short an amount of time either..._

To make matters even worse, she was left with very little knowledge of his present state, as Integra had ordered her to avoid him for now, which she agreed was for the best. He knew what she was. It had flown right over his head until then, but when she entered the blood stained room that night, the look in his eyes was unmistakable. Suddenly she was just one of them, just another monster in that hellhouse... all Seras could remember was the look he gave her...

_...He just seemed so..._

"...Betrayed?"

Seras leapt, turning to see Helena standing beside her. She let out a sigh of relief, upon realizing who it was, only to feel somewhat idiotic that she never noticed the other vampire approach. She really had let her guard down.

Helena had arrived early that morning, shortly before sunrise. She was just as Seras had remembered her, if not even more refined, if that was even possible, for she was always a creature of grace. She elegantly lowered her small body to sit beside Seras, watching the falling snow.

"I've found a place in London I can stay..." she said, as she brushed several snow flakes off her laced gown. "...I will remain in the country until this is through, but after that I mustn't linger..." she sighed "...it disgusts me that such madness threatens to repeat itself..."

Seras nodded, silently, not looking up from her glass.

"... Though...It does astonish me that you cannot feel the pure and undiminished power that emits from that boy..." Helena murmured, a faint smile forming for a moment. "...It will only grow worse from here..." she added, her usual air of melancholy returning, for gentle smile never lasted very long. Seras looked up, staring into her eyes.

"...Did you... see him...?" she asked, lightly biting her lip with the tip of her fang. That morning Seras had taken little time to speak of Hellsings current predicament, although Helena's sense was sharp as ever, and she had already identified a strange aura on the grounds.

"No..." Helena replied, "Although I would greatly desire to... Just to speak with him, to know what he knows..."

"...What do you think of him?" Seras said, under her breath several seconds later.

Helena stood, brushing the snow from her gown.

"To say anything of who he is... would be nothing more then an assumption. There is not a definitive answer, but... he is not Alucard... Nor will he ever be. A remaining piece perhaps, a fragment, but not your master..."

She turned her head toward the manor, staring up at a window, though looking at nothing in particular.

"Oh..." she said, a somewhat perplexed expression on her face, "I believe that Sir Hellsing may have more difficulties with him tonight then expected."

--

Integra pulled the door open slowly, closing it softly behind her, and setting a tray down down on the nearby table. There was a moment of silence but after listening intently to the sounds around her, her ears picked up on the rhythmic tapping of Vladimir's fingernails against the windowsill. She walked slowly over to him, never turning on the light in the room, and set her hand over his, quieting the tapping.

"You should try and eat something, Vladimir..." She said in a hushed voice, just before he pulled away from her, leaning his head against the window and staring out, not once making eye contact with her. She stayed beside him for several more minutes, hoping for a response, then turned, returning to the table and sitting down. She rested her head overtop her hands as she often sat, never once taking her eyes off of Vlad. Another ten minutes went by, the clock on the wall ticking off each second, until she heard him utter a few inaudible words. She raised her head.

"...What was that?" She asked, pushing her chair back and standing. He turned his head towards her, letting her see his face clearly for the first time that day. The dark circles under his eyes where only growing deeper, altogether he looked terrible, and his lack of sleep or food was doing nothing to help his poor condition.

"...It's snowing..." he repeated, though barely any louder then before.

Integra walked back around the table to gaze out the window and stand beside him once more, as she did this he took a few steps back, keeping a short distance between them.

"Yes, it has been coming down all evening, hasn't it?" she responded, hoping to keep a conversation going, as this was the first time he had really spoken in that past twenty-four hours, excluding short ramblings to himself. He leaned against the wall, keeping his right hand on the windowsill.

"...Well... Now might be a good time..." He spoke, though he stopped part way through his words, looking away from her and up at the clock on the wall.

"...For what?" she questioned, trying to make eye contact, though he was almost determined to keep this from happening.

"...To answer me... answer those questions..." he murmured, as he started tapping the windowsill once more, "...just the full truth...is this even real...? Is this a test... I never left there... I'm still back _there... _They're just trying to shake me from _this_ delusion...?"

Before Integra could even try to respond to that he had slid to the floor, with his back to the wall, and was now resting below the window, his slender arms wrapped around his knee's. At this point it was no longer possible to reach him, as was now babbling on incoherently to himself, and blocking out anyone on the outside. She kneeled beside him, brushing his tangled hair from his face, then standing once more.

"...Just pull me away again... because none of its real... Nothing..." he muttered, though Integra could only make out a few of his words.

_I'll stay... I can wait, he may come out of it, or at least far enough for me to take him out of it..._

With that she began to wait, watching the snow drift to the ground below, while listening to Vlads apparently unconnected words, hoping to make some logic of it.

She knew that in the six years prior to their meeting he had experienced some sort of ailment, but now she could almost say his current madness stemmed from his own knowledge that several of his past 'hallucinations' where infact based on reality... but how much did he know? Did he have any memories of Hellsing, or who he once was...? Or where they just clear memories of that day?

Even with that she felt like she was getting ahead of her self, there where still many more explanations to his existence, but the only reasonable one was...

Just then her train of thought was broken, and she gazed around the small room, realizing that Vladimirs muttering had stopped and that he no longer stood beside her.

"...Then...Did I fail you, Sir Hellsing?" the words where whispered in her ear in a much harsher tone then before, as she felt his hand snake around her neck.

She gasped, attempting to draw away from him, just as the door was blasted open. Helena and Seras entered the room, the shock being enough for Vladimir to loosen his grip around Integra, She pulled free of him, drawing her gun and aiming towards his head. In this instant his eyes widened, and he backed away, finally dropping to the floor in a terrified mass. Seras ran up to stand beside her master, but Helena remained by the doorway, merely staring across at Vladimir.

"... He is lost... Truly lost..." she murmured, as he began to sob at Integra's feet...

--

The Vampiress giggled, taking down her hair, and letting it fall down past her porcelain shoulders.

"Well... this is a fun development." she purred, letting herself fall into an old love seat, causing the piece of furniture to creak under her weight. She kicked off her heels, wiggling her toes, and letting her long legs dangle over the edge of the seat. She stared up at the monitor infront of her in wonder, watching the scene unfold.

"...Elisabeth... I vould advise you not too become too... attatched to these characters..." said a voice behind her. She glanced up to the doorway, as the doctor entered.

"Oh come now, It _is_ quite amusing! ...and I am not that attached, afterall, I think it would have been a very amusing plot twist if he would have wrung her neck...Oh, this private performance is MOST fun..." she said with a cheshire grin. "Although I can't see what you want with him, he looks quite useless to me..."

The Doctor scowled, sitting down in a rather intricate chair closer to the monitors, and pulling out his remote, adjusting the various screens. The auburn haired woman, who he was addressing as 'Elisabeth', rolled out of her seat, slinking over to her accomplice, and running her hand over the remote. As she did this, she spotted a red button on the device and laughed, partly over the size of it, and partly over the blinding color.

"Well, well then... what does this do...?" she asked, her grin growing wider as she ran her finger up the button in a rather sexual matter. The Dok pulled the remote away from her, as a young child would keep its toys away from others.

"...You know full vell what that does!" he shouted, standing and pulling the remote from her reach. "...Vhy did you ask me about the boy? You vanted him asvell."

She let her eyes widen abit, resting her finger on her chest.

"Ohh? Did I?" she questioned with a honey-like tone. "...Well, it was more of a novelty...my interest left when I _saw_ him..." she murmured, slinking to the closet monitor and poking the static outline of the weeping Vladimir.

"...No..." she said, "I think the girl is much more fun..."

She glanced up at the blurry image of Seras, before walking towards the bathroom without a word, and letting her red dress fall to the floor. The Dok rubbed his head, taking off the large complex glasses he wore and wiping the many lenses. After putting them back on, he craned forward to look around the corner, just in time to see her nude frame before the door slammed closed. He muttered something under his breath, before returning to his work, and trying to ignore her giggling as he enjoyed her nightly bath.

This had all been going much slower then he had expected. Unleashing Elisabeth on the world... Well, he could never say it out loud, but it was starting to feel like a great mistake. She was far stronger then he had even hoped, and his control over her was growing weaker with each passing day. Not only that, but she was completely unpredictable, and it was starting to grow to a question of just who was using whom.

He gazed up at the screen, zooming in.

_'How stupid are these damn brits, vill they ever even notice the mansion vas bugged? No, no... Or course they vill, it vill only be a matter of time.'_ They where able to plant the cameras while Hellsing's own security was down several nights ago, they had even had wiretaps on the phones...However, Seras was the real ticket. She never even noticed that Elisabeth had chipped her while her hand tore past her dead heart... Yes, it was going very smoothly.

Elisabeth, that femme fatal, his masterwork, his project for at least sixty years... Perhaps that mad little Major had provided some financial support, as well as a good time, but ultimately _his_ goals all for nothing. All for a symphony of never ending war that would not even come to them, no matter how perfect his plan had been... Stupid man. Even Schrodingers existence had been simply tossed away for nothing, afterall, the desired effect had not occured...Then came Elisabeth, that quiet evening four years ago when she had at last been reawakened... She was no longer worth the risk or the trouble, She had to be disposed of, it was of the utmost importance that he started anew... Vladimir was the key, A being with so much power lying dormant, and so very naive. Perhaps he was somewhat insane, but he had so much more control over it then he had in a previous life, correct? To harness that, to improve that, a creature that would obey his commands... Perhaps he could never replace his past achievements, but having such a demon under his control would at least make his long journey somewhat worthwhile.

He frowned, pressing a button and turning off the moniters before walking from the now darkened room.

"...This ist only the first phase...und there are many more to come..."

**((Okay, How long has it been, A month or more? What did you think or have you guys stopped reading? Umm, anyway, thanks for reading, and many thanks for Kage, Rayne, MindAsylum, Cannot Fathom A Penname, Selene08, Sadame No Kageboushi, and many others. As stated, many times before, I will try to stay on track, but note that no matter how long it takes I will NOT abandon this fic..))**


	13. The Dawn May Never Come

Winter had come and gone, and air of early spring was blowing through the open window in the library. It was a cool and calm breeze, though the cold and so often dreary atmosphere of the region could not go unnoticed. Iscariot had long since returned to The Vatican, where Wolfe had written several letters in response to the recent silence from their newfound enemy. It had grown far too quiet since that ambush, and everyone knew it. Yes, it would fly over the heads of the servants, and some of the soldiers, but only the non informed. That had always been life at Hellsing; The sad knowledge of how simple and happy life would be if one was simply ignorant.

It would seem Wolfe had something up her sleeve, at least according to her her brief messages to Sir Integra. That was troubling all in itself, but nothing could be done about it. The Vatican was a force to be reckoned with, and the technology they possessed made them a silent and deadly force above most else.

Integra had let herself drift into an almost relaxed state as she loosened her tie, leaning back against the plush surface of the couch. She adjusted her glasses and took off her gloves, setting them neatly on the table, before opening one of her books and skimming over its table of contents. Vladimir kept a good distance from her, sitting on the other side of the room and pulling books off the shelf closest to him. He seemed to be looking for something, although his lack of communication made this a single handed search.

Altogether he'd actually improved in the past month, there where no more violent outbursts at least, and his relationship with Integra had changed for the better. He was still distant from everyone, but his personality was sowly shifting back to what it was when he had first arrived, and overall he appeared to be walking on much more solid ground. Helena's presence in the house did not alarm him. Infact, he seemed more at ease with her then Seras, with whom his relationship with was still rather unstable.

But at 1:00 on a sunday afternoon neither Seras or Helena where present, leaving only Sir Hellsing, Layne, and a number of servants in that wing of the mansion. The only noticeable sound was the turning of crisp paper as Integra read, occasionally pausing and looking to Vlad, who was completely engrossed in whatever old volume he had pulled off the shelves. Integra could not have been more the opposite, as each page she scanned left her memory the moment she read it. Relaxation had never been a strong point for her, and one could almost say the art of doing nothing was something she alone could never master. Her mind would ultimately find its way back to their current problems with their newest undead threat, or to Vlad. Despite her abilities to focus, focusing on anything trivial was often out of the question, and she found herself re-reading the same page several times, trying to take it in. The library at the Hellsing mansion had a unique reminiscent aura to it, and to this very day Integra could still remember lessons with her father, Walter bringing her tea, Alucard 'reorganizing' all the books and leaving others to deal with it. This place was a source of light at so many darkened times. On this particular day the fragrance of lilacs blew through the open window, being swept up by the spring breeze and now mingling with the scent of old tobacco and dusty leather. Altogether it left an antique feeling, but not one of a musty old shop, a much more warm and inviting feel.

Vlad flipped over the pages of the beaten up journal, scanning over only the most important bits and pieces, only reading the full entry when something caught his eye. The handwriting in the book was lush, yet with a certain harshness to it, an elegant bite that allowed one to almost understand just who had once owned the book. The entries themselves where mostly scientific, with a few philosophical bits here and there. What the notes pertained to, however, was something out of fiction, so far out of touch with reality that anyone outside of Hellsing would consider such a journal a farce.

Abraham Van Helsing, a name out of a fiction, but slowly seeping over the pages and into the harsh depths of Vladimirs reality. His eyes darted to Integra, who didn't seem to notice what he was looking at. That was all for the better, he had his doubts she wanted him looking at these books...Strange she even left them in the library, really.

Nothing was safe to call fantasy anymore, and all that existed in reality was a covered up lie. There was no 'reality' left for Vlad, the lines between fact and fiction had long since blended together. Months prior an attack on Hellsing had proved it... and what of the London attacks six years ago?

So many people used to say it was a coverup, but they where taken no more serious then those hunting for UFO's in such an empty sky... Were they right?

Vladimir rubbed his eyes, the hours he'd now been reading where getting to him and, despite the neat writing in the journals, such an antique style, aswell as what the journals pertained to, felt so foreign and hard on a modern mind. Bram Stoker... best known for a work of fantasy that was since dragged through the mud of hollywood and the like... Yet everything written in these books scattered around him suggested that the novel was based on fact, facts that where changed to quite a grand level by the end.

He rested the journal on the floor.

_The end... what lies past the end...?_

No, No... How could any of this _really_ be true? Someone had to be gaslighting him... that was it... The most simple explanation... Still...

He yawned, leaning back against the book shelf he was sitting against. He was tired, so tired for so long, yet this heavy paranoia looming over him would never let him sleep. Glancing at a shelf across from him he saw another small book resting on the edge, it's lack of a title indicating yet another journal. He rubbed his eyes again, groaning, before crawling forward and picking up the volume, flipping it open and scanning the first page.

The handwriting was cursive, but much lazier then the other, although the neatness varied with each entry. It lacked a specific date, but the entries themselves ranged from 1941, to late into 1944. The name scribbled lazily onto the end of each note was Arthur Hellsing.

Vlad's eyes wandered to Sir Integra, who, by some chance, had fallen to sleep, her book still in her hand and laying across her chest.

He kept his eyes locked on her for a moment, with an odd adoration as he watched her chest rise and fall. He then returned to the journal skipping over the useless notes on the inside of the cover, and turning to the first entry...

_--_

_"Bloody hell...You...You look like you've seen a ghost!"_

_"Oh, I-I didn't say? ...Really sorry, it's Vladimir Layne..."_

_"I only came because you wanted it, You needed me in those first few months... You do not need me anymore."_

_"Then did I...fail you...Sir Hellsing?"_

_"You told me once that your world and mine are the same... So then, Integra... Do _you_ believe that I am really here...?"_

**"Don't disappear!"**

Integra's eyes opened as she jolted up from the couch, the book lying over her chest falling onto the floor with a dull clunk. She took a few seconds to catch her breath, taking her glasses off for a moment and cleaning them with the edge of her shirt. She lifted them back to her face, adjusting them, before looking out the window at the calm night.

_Calm... night...?_

Reality of the situation returned to her, and her eyes darted to the corner where Vlad had been sitting, only to find him gone, the books he'd taken from the shelves back in their rightful place as they had always been. She stood abruptly, ignoring the book that was still lying on the floor and rushed to the doors, pushing them open and stepping into the long and empty halls. She turned, making her way to the staircase, thought not once stopping to call out his name. She climbed the staircase, heading towards Vladimirs room on the next floor, the eerie calmness of the house unnoticed to her as she rested her hand on the ice-cold door knob, turning it ever so slowly.

The room was empty, without the smallest sign that anyone had inhabited it in the recent past. His bags where gone, she shuffled through the drawers finding them all bare, there was even a thin layer of dust over the dresser. She raised her finger, staring at the thin mark where she had wiped the dust off.

_No... that wasn't right... This would be clean at least... the maids would have..._

She turned abruptly, reaching for the door knob only to be burned on the hot metal. Shocked, she felt the door, a rising level of heat on the other side. It wasn't possible, was it...? Though she knew the answer, the roar of the fire growing loader on the other side. Slowly she turned from the door, about to make her way toward the window, when the room changed. She wasn't in the Hellsing mansion any longer, she was outside it, staring at the rubble of the partially demolished building. She recognized that image. It had been just this way when she first returned with only Seras at her side.

This was not reality, nor was it anything like a nightmare, no, she recognized that dark yet playful glee that radiated around her. Finally, for the first time since this mess had started, she spoke, but not in the calm and composed way she had known for so many years... This tone of voice was reserved only for him, a fury that only that servant of hers could ever insight.

"ALUCARD!"

Her scream echoed farther then she had thought, ripping through the entire picture that had been set around her, and like a films set burning to the ground, she found the images tearing away from her.

There she stood, in the center of the library, everything once more in perfect clarity, despite the time of day, and how Vlad was still missing.

"...Alucard..?"

She raised an eyebrow, turning her head slowly to glance at her shadow that was being cast by the lamps dim light. Slowly and silently he rose from the murky depths of the shadow, a cheshire grin across his face.

"I suppose you found something funny about that...?" she muttered, turning to face him.

His smirk didn't falter, as he took off his coat and hat, tossing them carelessly onto the coffee table. No, his grim smile remained, and he shrugged in response to his masters question, letting himself fall back onto the couch. Integra's dire expression remained also, and as she approached the lounging vampire the smirk slowly fell from his face. He stretched his arms and shoulders, almost like a cat, before answering her.

"I suppose. It _was_ rather interesting... Tell me, what do you care more about?" he began, as he pulled himself back up into a seated position, lounging against the couch. "...Do you care more about your family's legacy... Or... _him_..."

He brushed his hair up and out of his face, holding his hand in his his dark mane for a moment as if posing for a magazine, but since Integra was paying little attention to his antics he let his hand fall back down, annoyed by the lack of interest.

Integra leaned down, grabbing his tie and pulling him towards her.

"...Why are you here?" she said, very tensely. "...You need to leave me alone..." she said through gritted teeth.

"...I think I told you before, master... I'll be here as long as you want it... as long as you _will_ it..."

He ran his tongue over his teeth, wrapping his hand around her wrist and pulling her down towards him, almost causing her to loose balance.

"...As long as you desire me... As long as I am yours... You told me not to leave you, master... I'll obey your every command... I will vanish from time to time, yes... but I will never truly be gone until you will it..."

He kissed her wrist, his fangs and tongue lightly brushing over her creamy skin. Her expression softened, but only so slightly before her free hand slid behind her, lifting a pistol from the table and firing it into his right eye. She dropped the pistol to the ground, as Alucard fell back against the couch, the empty socket bleeding profusely for several seconds before it began to regenerate.

Integra stared down at her own hand, Alucard's blood now splattered over it.

"I am your master. I may desire you, I may want you by my side... but you will _not_ act outside of your bounds."

He pulled his hand away from his eye, wiping his own blood onto to couch... and just as yet another grin was spreading up his face, she backhanded him, wiping it clean off. He slowly turned his head back to face her, his expression more serious then before

Integra stood, pulling the tin of cigars from her pocket and lighting one.

"...You mentioned Vladimir... So then... You know of him, are my assumptions correct?" She said, looking to get straight to the matters at hand before her slave had the chance to talk his way out of her subconscious as he so often did.

"...Vladimir...?" he remarked, raising an eyebrow, though in a rather sarcastic matter, acting as if he knew nothing on the matter. Integra exhaled, the smoke wafting through the room as she walked to the window, which she now noticed was closed.

_...Oh...Vladimir wanted it open today... Then that must be why it's closed... Every trace of him is gone..._

"...Who is he, Alucard?" she said, staring out at the calm night. Several minutes passed by slowly before she received an answer.

"...He is ...nothing..." the vampire replied, his red eyes reflecting in the moons rays, "...He is nothing more then the combined memories of many pathetic souls..."

She turned back to him, returning to him once more and sitting down beside him. She leaned forward towards the ashtray, snuffing out her cigar.

"...Are you just another pathetic soul then...?" she remarked, leaning back on the couch, ignoring how Alucard's arm was now snaking around her shoulder.

"...You know what I am."

She smirked, at last, looking back at him.

"Really?" she responded with a sarcastic tone. "...You can never just _answer_ a question, now can you?"

She looked away from him, staring into the corner where Vlad had been reading her smile faded.

"...I want you to leave now." She said, with an air of melancholy. "...You where right before. It has been too long, Alucard. You only used to come because I needed you...Now I no longer..." She would have continued her speech, but the weight beside her had shifted, and that cold hand on her shoulder had been lifted, strangely leaving her more chilled then before. She looked around the room, standing as she saw him with his hand on the door knob.

He did not look back to her, not once, but in the deadly silence that surrounded her, she could barely hear the knob click as her turned it.

"...Why use the door...?" she murmured, that dry feeling in the back of her throat choking her words. "..Why not just do what you always do...?"

He paused, finally answering her.

"...I wanted you to remember this night." he replied, before stepping out of the door and into the oblivion outside her mind. The nothingness outside that a part of her felt he'd never return from. She said nothing, every emotion she thought she had saved for this moment had simply dried up, and she sat back down on the couch, merely staring into the distance.

_...I will remember this night...I'll remember this night until the dawn comes again..._

_--_

Integra's eyes fluttered open, the evening light pouring in through the window, as the sounds of gunfire out on the target field commenced. She looked up at the clock, reading that it was 4:00 in the afternoon, the same day, the same year.

She lifted the book off her chest, resting it on the table, and glanced to Vlad who was now asleep in the corner, the journals scattered around him, save for one that he still had in his grasp.

Integra rubbed her eyes, as she got up from the couch.

_"What dreams await me now...In a the depths reality..."_

...and as she straightened her clothing out, and reached down to put on her gloves she finally saw the blood that was still left splattered across her hand.

_"Then it never was just my mind..._

_Then that really was... the last time..."_

The coming of the dawn... that morning light would always be just out of reach.

--

**((OKAY! So, ths is really just abit of filler to take us to the next chapter, but it's somewhat needed filler...Anyway, sorry for all the slow updates lately...I hope you enjoyed that, though, umm, review please...?? Seriously, I live off of reviews. xD I eetz them, and they r gud. So review please, thanks.))**


	14. The Other Side of the Fence

"There's something you haven't told me."

A cold wind blew over the table, the leaves on the trees rustling in it's wake. Sir Integra lifted the cup of tea to her mouth, slowly taking a sip as the woman across from her sat with her lips pursed. Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, and Heinkel Wolfe, the head of Iscariot.

On tuesday afternoon, the two where outside of a small restaurant in outer London. Although the capital had been bombed and burnt to the ground, the deathtoll forever rising as more charred bodies where uncovered, it was the outer boroughs that sustained the least damage, and had already begun on their long road to a new city.

This cafe in particular had been opened only months prior, and was managing to thrive on the outskirts of such a haunting city.

Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, and Heinkel Wolfe. Two of the most powerful women in the world, and there they sat, discussing the countries greatest matters in the open and right under the publics eye. That was the way that both organizations had always worked. Covert, yet obvious as the light of day. They where right under the noses of every civilian, they where part of the crowd, they where everywhere. They where out on the line to let others lead normal lives, and most notable, they where the few who the world would never name heroes no matter what they did in life.

"You're...hiding something." Integra said, elaborating.

Wolfe stirred, looking up from her own cup of coffee.

"Yes, I am. Vould you not expect as much, protestant?" She replied in a cool tone, lifting the cup to her scarred face and drinking. Two robed figures where sitting several tables behind her, under the the cafe's awnings, they where silent, though obviously on her side. Just as Heinkels cup clanked against the glass topped table, one of them rose to their feet, passed to Sir Integra's side, and set a folder down infront of her. Integra raised an eyebrow, as the young man returned to his own table. She looked at Heinkel for any sort of response, but after getting nothing more then a brief nod, she scowled, opening the folder her self and skimming through it's contents. After several minutes she lowered the files, her eyes narrowing on Wolfe.

"...Really?" She said, gravely, setting the papers down on the table and lighting a cigar.

"Yes" was the only response she received, as the Iscariot leaned back in her chair, a rather satisfied smile on her lips.

"Just why have you begun research again? So far as Hellsing has been informed, your organizations research on such matters ended decades ago. They failed." Integra paused, lighting a cigar that she felt was needed, then continued, "Anderson was the only success."

She lowered her cigar after taking a drag, deliberately burning the edge of the paper with it.

"Regenerators..." She murmured. "...Once more _Iscariot_ plans to mess with the natural order and send such...things to do their work."

She exhaled a ring of smoke, then took off her glasses for a moment, cleaning the lenses with a cloth before resting them on the bridge of her nose. Heinkel practically growled, as she pulled the papers away from Sir Hellsing and back to her own side of the table.

"It ist different now... und I vould advice you to watch vhat you say. Hellsing's practices are far from upstanding..." She stood, leaning over the table and paying the bill, flourishing a signature on the paper. "...Unlike you, ve are using the knowledge given to us by God to improve our efforts... und ve have succeeded, in His grace, vhile you delve into the occult for such things, you protestant cretins have no morals." She finished, with a bite in her tone.

Integra remained at the table with her legs crossed.

"...My great-great grandfather once thought that if something so powerful was aligned with God, rather then the devil, that great things could be achieved, that souls could be saved in the process," She snuffed her cigar out in an ashtray, "...Great things."

Standing she continued, lifting her coat from the back of the chair and draping it over her shoulders, putting it on.

"...We've illuminated darkness, in ways previous thought impossible. Your people are just creating more."

Heinkel said nothing, as she joined her two men, ready to leave this pointless meeting. Integra gave a curt nod of the head, taking the files from the table, before departing herself, but not without adding a few last words.

"...Wolfe...? Since when are our organizations sparring so vigorously again?" She said, with a raised eyebrow, though not expecting a response, for she knew full well that all this was just due to the recent tension brought about by that 'woman in red'.

...and no response she received, as Heinkel turned swiftly, and strode to her next destination, which, The Iscariot was glad to say, was to a plane back to rome.

--

Seras shuffled through the files.

"...So...basically, she's got a bunch of researches building an _army_." the former police girl murmured, running her finger unconsciously over a thin scar down her neck.

Integra nodded, standing beside her fathers portrait, staring into the painted eyes of one of the many men she missed so much.

"Yes." She replied, vaguely, "...It was one thing when they had Anderson... but the idea of making _all_ of their agents this way...It's preposterous, I won't stand for-"

"...It is the way things are." A voice interrupted. Both women turned to the door, where Helena stood. It wasn't possible to say exactly when she had entered the room, nor how long she had even been on Hellsing grounds, but her usual melancholy sent a chill through the office.

"There was a time when _we_ thought that the hunting would cease. When humans became so proud, so smart... They no longer believed, their new religions was _logic_. It was in those times that the vatican was the only thing standing in the way of the nosferatus." She walked past the desk, brushing her hand over it, then calmly taking the paper from Seras.

"...Then over one hundred years ago...Hellsing put an end to over half of our population...Yet, it has made little difference, has it?"

Integra clenched a fist, digging her nails into her hand, but said nothing.

"...In retrospect, The ones to cause our destruction in this land where the ones who wished to become us... Those lowly imitations... Quite ironic."

She paused, her expression changed for a moment as a piece of paper fell out between the pages. "Oh?"

She held the photograph in her hand, something akin to a sad smile on her face.

"...I doubt that the Iscariot intended this to get mixed up in such important matters..."

She mused, setting the photograph aside and continuing to read the report. Seras' face read of confusion, as she moved swiftly to the desk, Integra turning from the painting to join her, nobody noticing the blood now dripping from her palm.

The photograph on the desk, which must have dated back over fifteen years, was none other then Alexander Anderson, joined by three children. A young japanese girl, a boy whom, despite the young age, Integra could recognize as Maxwell, and finally Heinkel, who's smile beamed as she looked up to Anderson, hugging the japanese girl who was now assumed to be Yumiko. Seras, who had been hovering over it with interest, moved aside as Integra picked up the picture, her expression unreadable as her own eyes met with those four familiar, yet unrecognizable people.

Helena continued to read the document, but raised her eyes from the paper just once, and although she did not face the two, she voiced the feeling that had made itself present in the dimly lit room.

"...It would seem that we are all the same, stumbling through the darkness. We are merely divided by an impenetrable stockade."

Integra shuddered, setting the photograph back onto the desk.

"...She'll be wanting that back... _if_ she realizes it's missing," She said sharply, turning and exiting her own office.

Seras sighed, raising herself to sit on the desk.

"...Bloody hell..." She murmured. "...They look so...so..."

"Merry?" Helena asked, monotonously.

Seras smirked, as she heard her beloved captains hysterical laughter ringing through her head; yes, he knew what she had really been thinking, and could not agree more.

"...Well... I was thinking 'sane'" she chuckled, tucking the photograph into her shirt.

"...Just what are you doing with that?" Helena asked, as she finally finished reading, and sat the papers back on Integra's desk.

"Nothin'" Seras said, jumping off the desk. "...I just got an idea."

Helena caught on immediately, whether it was her vampiric senses, or is Seras had just made it so obvious, and she spoke up.

"...Seras. He is nothing more then a shell, and all you know him to be is merely a mass of souls... If _his _being is somewhere inside that body, frankly I would be astounded." She approached Seras, reaching a hand up and resting it on her face. "I apologize, Childe...However, you stated it yourself: You felt nothing when you saw him."

Seras paused, looking away from Helena' deep eyes.

"I know...but... Sir Integra _did_."

With that, she stepped back from the smaller vampire, turned, and phased down through the floorboards.

--

**Short chapter is shoooort... Sorry about that, but the next one should be abit longer. That scenario of Heinkel's photograph is something I've actually wanted to do for a long time, Infact, she was originally intended to drop it when she was staying at Hellsing... either way, Vlad shall see it soon enough... 'course, from the looks of the last chapter, he's already seen ALOT...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry if there are any errors, and please review. Bye.**


	15. Looking For Answers

November 23, 1999

Somehow, it was calm that day. The sun couldn't breach the darkness of that solitary and sanitary place. The garden was a breath of fresh air, providing some feeling of freedom... The doctors and nurses would smile for the most part, talking in sweet voices like they would use with children... Occasionally there was some pleasant surprise that would grant the patients just a brief feeling of independence and joy... but even in those times the light could never brake past those walls, and smiles would fool nobody. The long solitary halls where colorless to their inhabitants, and dreams provided little escape, for only nightmares and paranoia would come for them in the night.

This wasn't a place of healing, it was a place to store the filth that no one else wanted to deal with. A place to lock in the madness until it finally left with Death, who's visits had become so regular in the past year.

Yes, despite this dark reality that loomed over ones head as they entered, today had indeed been calm. There was nothing abnormal to report, there where no accidents, no uproar, and overall a level of peacefulness over most the patients. A peacefulness so strong, infact, that one might be lead to believe that the drug dosage had been upped sometime this morning... Which was not too high a conclusion to jump to.

However, it couldn't last forever, and finally a situation arose with one of the residents around nine o'clock in the evening, leaving several of the nurses in a frenzy, trying to deal with their erratic patient until one of the physicians who was more experienced with this particular invalid was finally available.

At roughly eleven o'clock that night, a doctor at the facility was finally making his way out of room 117, a clipboard in hand and a tired look on his face, for no doubt the past hours had been rather grueling. A ways down the hall, a conversation was sparked between him and one of the nurses at the premises, a slim women in her mid thirties, with straight, shoulder length black hair, and a rather strong cockney accent. They continued their way to the entrance hall of the building, and as the subjects they discussed changed, they slowly but surely came to rest on one concern...

"...His anxiety was under control today, at least until a little while ago. He's been making progress, but my god, if this sort of thing continues..."

"I'm not going near 'im, I told you what happened when 'e first came here, di'n I?"

"What? No, I don't recall."

"'E managed to get a pen from me, that's what, bloody 'ell, that loon nearly stabbed me wi' it."

"He was rather difficult at first... he's shown little aggressive behavior since then."

"...Maybe not aggressive these days, but 'e isn't givin' us a good image... I'll be stayin' wi' my own patients, If I'm ever forced to deal wi' 'im, I'm leaving."

"None of the other nurses want anything to do with him either... As I said, he _has_ improved greatly... He wouldn't even speak to me before... but we still know nothing about him..."

"...I've 'eard about 'is case. No solid evidence righ'? No relatives, nothin'..."

"...He'd been doing _so well_ the past week."

"It only eva' lasts so long... Well, I suppose one can't blame 'im...'e did come out of _that mess... _My God, If I'da been there, I'm not sure 'ow I'd be eitha."

"...It's odd. In all my years I don't think I've ever dealt with anyone _quite_ like this man..."

"'Ow is he right now? I've got night shift, I don't want trouble."

"I managed to calm him down and get him restrained before giving him his meds... He should sleep soundly."

"...Damn, I 'ope so Doctor, if I 'ave to hear that ruddy screamin' tonight... Sorry, I know you're ratha' devoted to 'im but..."

"It's alright, I'm used to this.

"...'Ey, wha's 'is name again?"

They where both walking out the final door in the building, at this point, stepping out into the fresh air.

"...Well, we've yet to really confirm _that_..." The doctor remarked, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "...But...so far as I know, it's... Vladimir Layne."

--

Present day, at the Hellsing mansion.

Seras slowly pushed open the iron door to her room, looking down the halls in the basement, then finally stepping out. She went to the left, heading towards the the stairway that used to lead back up from the cellars. The halls where covered in cobwebs, and the neglect showed despite her recent work to clean. Still, after quite abit of labor the draculina had fixed some of the electrical work in the basement. With the flick of a few switches the vast hallways where illuminated once more, and she smiled to herself, proud of her handy work. She looked past her bedroom, down to the end of the hall and it's final chamber.

_"Well, I have to get this over and done with." _ She thought, as she walked to the large iron door. She took a breath, then pushed against it, finally getting it cracked open far enough to enter. At this, she let herself fall onto the floor of the chamber, sitting against the wall and letting another proud smile spread over her lips at her accomplishments. She looked down at herself, noticing that over the course of the day her white tanktop was now coated in grime, as where the torn blue jeans she'd slipped into earlier. After a few seconds of recovery, she stood again, walking into the chamber and resting her eyes on the large chair in the center, and the table next to it. Her satisfied smirk had turned to sad remembrance as she ran her finger over the layer of dust on one of her late masters bottles. She picked it up, swirling it in her hand to find that it was still half full, then unpopped the cork, curiously taking a swig. Immediately she set the bottle down, her hand to her mouth as she swallowed the contents. Despite the good quality of the blood, the old mixture of wine and life had been far stronger then she expected or desired.

_"...and this is why I don't drink."_

Her thoughts spawned Pip's playful laughter, and at this moment she couldn't help but join him, afterall, her choking on the drink _was_ rather amusing.

_"'Ey, At least you weren't on ze plane with 'im."_

"I was in the ruddy cargo hold!" she shouted outloud, as she felt back into Alucard's old throne.

_"'No 'ard feelings, mignonette."_

"Master was a git that day..." She muttered, leaning against the back of the chair with her hands behind her head.

"...By any chance did he get drunk... Do anything humorous?" She added, curiously.

_"...Non, least not as far as I know...Can vampires get drunk?"_

"Damn," she added, in a joking tone, for she never expected the answer to have been 'yes' anyway. Her smile had widened, as she adjusted her position in the chair again... but as the solitude of the room began to envelop her, suddenly she was compelled to speak again, her smile faltering.

"...Pip?" She started, her tone having changed drastically.

_"...Yes?"_

She paused, trying to form some words, but Pip could already feel her emotions and questions... Despite that, he waited for her to speak.

"...If things had been different..." she began, still trying to put her feelings into words, "...If things would've been different, would you still..."

_"Always, Mon ange."_

She nodded, closing her eyes as the devilish smile returned to grace the lips of Pip's 'angel'.

"Thank you."

--

Vladimir sat crosslegged on his bed, several journals cluttering the surface of it, surrounding him, and one notebook in his lap. The books previous life as a diary had long since been abandoned, and he was tediously pouring over the Hellsing Family's journals, and using his own book for notes relating to them.

It had taken him some time to smuggle the items up to a more private place, but he had managed, and the books he had now spanned from the late 19th century and onward. He leaned forward and rested his hand on one of Arthur Helsings journals, holding the page down as he carefully copied the line word for word into his own book, his long hair falling forward, though apparently not blocking his vision.

_"...This isn't the full picture... it ends too soon..."_

He took a quick breath, glancing to the clock nervously.

5:42 AM... Sir Integra _had_ to be asleep by now. His eyes darted to the door, and he slipped off the bed, not even caring to pick up the journals he knocked onto the floor. Sliding his hand to the door he took a breath, his heart racing already, and turned the knob, stepping into the hallway and walking as quietly, yet as swiftly as possible towards Integra's office. He passed Integra's bedroom eventually, becoming even more cautious as he took a good minute to pass the door, before finally arriving at her office.

He took a sharp breath, his eyes darting back down the hall to Integra's room, before he rested his hand on the door knob, turning it ever so slowly and stepping in. He took a few seconds to process the fact he'd gotten this far, and even longer to realize he wasn't dead yet, but finally he stepped further into the room, heading straight towards her desk. The table was clean and organized for the day, and whatever records where still out on the table where of no concern to him. He began to shuffle through the drawers, though coming up shorthanded... that is, until his eyes finally came to rest on the lowest drawer.

Of course, to his dismay, it was locked, and said locks held fast... Despite how many times he desperately pulled the handle, he knew deep down that it would stay that way. He let a quiet moan escape his lips before leaning against the desk, letting himself practically fall against it in defeat. However, a certain spark came to his eye, and he stood, making another long voyage to the kitchen, returning after ten minutes with a small knife, which he had spent a few minutes bending before he had entered the room. He then walked to the desk, pulling open one of the top drawers to grab a paper clip, which he carefully untwisted until it was mostly straight. He closed his eyes, and bit his lip, before finally sliding the knife into the lock, Then working the straightened paper clip in. Every sound he heard caused him to jump, and even the faint sound of the pins clicking in the lock felt like bombs falling. He exhaled, finally turning the knife in the lock and pulling the drawer open.

He lifted a stack of papers out from the drawer, flipping through each of them as if he'd found the Holy Grail.

_Seras' files... Alucard...? ...Millennium...?_

He stood, looking up from the files at last. _"I can't be stupid about this...I can't get caught yet..." ..._and was on his way to the door when he ran straight into a certain young woman whom he had hoped to avoid, especially at a time like this.

"...Where're you going with those, Vlad?" Seras asked, leaning against the doorway still dressed in the dingy work clothes she'd had on earlier in the cellars, except this time she had a sleeve attached on one side, covering her shadow arm. Vlad's grip on the files only tightened, and he backed away from the door.

"...Get...away from me..." he choked out, still creeping further from her and eventually backing into Integra's desk. He jumped, realizing he had little hope of escaping, his knee's starting to shake... Still, he kept his grip on the papers, like a starved dog with a piece of fresh meat. Seras shifted her feet, pausing to think for a moment on how to handle the situation, but upon coming up dry, she decided that things would have to be handled the hard way.

"Look... I'm not going to hurt you-" she started, but was cut off almost immediately by a panicked "I don't trust you!" as Vlad clumsily made his way around and past the desk, never taking his focus off of her.

"...Could we _try_ to talk?" She asked, her tone much quieter then before. Silence fell between the two of them, as Vlad ran out of room to run and found himself backed up against the wall. Seras approached him slowly, as if trying to get closer to an animal, but as she was within a few feat of him he found the strength to run past her. He dropped the files onto the desk, though still guarding them, and grabbed a letter opener that he saw beside them, the closest form of defense he could think of. Seras furrowed her eyebrows, looking to the floor.

_"Why can't this go easy...?"_

She swallowed, and in under a second she had the letter opener out of his hand, and the his arm pinned against the table. He struggled at first, but after about a minute his efforts where reduced to pleading and crying. Her firm grip around his wrist, which was now bruised from the pressure, was loosened and she pulled him close to her, whispering to him.

"...shhh...I'm sorry..." Her voice was hushed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "..._I'm sorry_, Vlad..."

He tried to draw away from her, the fight not quite out of him, but her grip tightened once more. The room fell silent, apart from a few sobs and Seras' gentle whispers, and finally he gave in, letting her hold him as his crying slowly ceased.

"...I...I know more then you think...I..." He choked, barely above a whisper.

"I know," she responded, running her hand along the back of his head, "I know...shh...and I think you have the right to know..."

He drew away from her, finally, wiping the salty tears that where still on his face and taking a shaky breath. Seras moved to sit on the desk, picking up the files that Vlad had taken from the drawer.

"...This is pretty confidential..." she remarked, flipping over the first few pages. Vlad kept his eyes on the floor as she spoke, still trying to avoid her own crimson orbs as they flickered in the dim light. "...You picked the lock?" She added, raising her eyes to him.

"...I... didn't read much of it... At least nothing that pertained to..." He stopped, biting into his lip. She understood, nodding and handing him the files, which came as somewhat a surprise to him.

"...Vlad...?" At first she received no response, and after thirty seconds, when she was inclined to ask again he raised his head, looking her straight in the eye for the first time in months.

"...Y-es...?"

"...I think you deserve to learn the truth."

--

"...Alright... So, what's your mission?"

A silky voice rang over an abandon warehouse near the center of london.

"...Your mission is... Bring back a whiney boy to Der Doktor, and leave the tart for me, right? Right."

The women rested her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth at the door.

"...No... You don't get it."

Elisabeth kicked over an old barrel that was sitting beside the door, then turned to whoever she was addressing. Loitering in the warehouse before her where about twenty or so vampires, most of them in their late teens, and behaving as such. She crossed her arms, staring down at the floor, then without warning strode towards the nearest one. This particular freak was no older then eighteen, and dressed like a chav. He remained seated on a crate with a wayward gleam in his eyes as he ignored her rantings, instead playing with a pocket knife in his hand.

She scowled, her fangs shining and extending.

"...What... are you doing...?"

Before he had so much a chance to respond, she tore the knife from his hand, stabbing it straight into his neck and, with her other hand holding him down by his shoulder length hair, she slid right through it, beheading him and knocking the remains to the concrete floor.

"...Now... This is why you're supposed to _listen_," She tipped her head towards the others, the knife still in her hand, "I just want a little cooperation... That's all..."

Another one of the freaks, who was previously leaning against the wall smoking, stood.

"...Yeah, yeah, when are we going to get some action, eh?" He shouted across the room in a light scottish accent, then tossed the cigarette to the ground before snuffing it out with his foot. In the usual way, this roused a few others in the group the ask the same question, all of them growing rather restless.

Elisabeth dropped the knife. Though she remained where she was.

"...Fine. You want to kill?" She turned, pointing in the direction of the door. "...Go kill. Go on. It's fine by me, do it..." This received no response from her little soldiers, who had all grown rather silent. Whatever she was suggesting, it couldn't be good.

"Fine...fine..." She kicked the head of the vampire she'd just killed, rolling it across the room, a few others jumping back as it stopped by their feet. "...You don't want to go...Then wait...I'll give you bledshed"

She turned, walking to the door, but just as her hand came to rest on the knob, someone else opened it on the other side. She came to face Dok, who's expression was rather amused, yet almost as blank as usual, since he was quite a hard man to read.

"Come back vith me to the lab, Elisabeth, there's been some interesting developments at Hellsing..."

--

**((See?? I can update on time! Next chapter should bring about an epiphany moment for a certain character, but please, all reviews for THIS chapter will be loved. I've come along way with you guys here beside me, and thanks for hanging in this long. I honestly have no idea how much longer this story will last, but I estimate it still has quite a ways to go before I reach the end. Anyway, R&R please, and thanks.))**


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